State Department of Corrections will use an early warning system to inform residents of Chesterfield and other communities near prisons and jails of escapes and emergencies.
By: Scott Morgan
The state Department of Corrections last week launched its new early warning prison alert system, a telephone system designed to inform residents of Chesterfield and other communities near prisons and jails of escapes and emergencies.
The Community Notification System, the first of its kind in the country, kicked off statewide on April 22 and is seen by the DOC as an easy, effective way to keep residents apprised of issues at local prisons.
Built around the principle that there is no such thing as too much information, the system is a free service to residents who wish to keep tabs on events at prisons and jails that could affect neighboring communities, said DOC spokesman Matt Schuman. The idea, Mr. Schuman said, is to keep rumors and misinformation at bay.
"The first reaction (to the sight of emergency vehicles) is the worst," he said. "If people are in the dark, they get nervous."
The phone system, Mr. Schuman said, is an extension of the siren warning system, which was put in place decades ago to sound whenever there was an escape or emergency at a prison. The siren system will continue to operate, he said, but now as a supplement to the phone service.
The phone service itself will operate in two ways, Mr. Schuman said, one as a direct-dial line where residents would call a toll-free number for updates and the other as a subscriber service which would automatically dial subscribers when information is updated.
The subscriber service will not be available for the next few weeks, Mr. Schuman said. The system costs about $1,300 a month to operate, which comes out of the DOC budget.
Larry Durr, mayor of Chesterfield, which houses the Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility and the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, said he did not know too much about the system, but said "it sounds like a good idea to me."
Mr. Schuman said residents are welcome to call the phone system is built to handle up to 500 calls in a 15-minute time frame but cautioned against undue anxiety.
"We really don’t have too many escapes, but we want to be prepared," he said.
Residents may call the DOC’s Community Notification System hotline at (866) DOC-NEWS.