The Essex County Jail in Newark NJ has received accreditation from the American Correctional Association (ACA).
According to county officials, the Essex County Correctional Facility received a three-year ACA accreditation after scoring a 95 percent compliance rating on an audit.
The audit involved an extremely rigorous inspection process. It consisted of 59 mandatory and 300 non-mandatory categories, including housing, officer training, cleanliness, food services, visitation conditions, and social services.
The Essex County Correctional Facility is $416 million facility that opened in March 2004. It is the largest county jail in the state. The 2,343-bed facility houses county inmates, immigrant detainees, and federal prisoners.
In recent years, the Essex County Jail has scored lucrative contracts due to the facility’s high standards.
The ACA is a non-profit group based in Arlington, Virginia. Nationally, fewer than five (5) percent of county jails receive accreditation from the ACA.
For more information, see the NJ.com article entitled “N.J.’s Largest County Jail Earns Accreditation from American Correctional Association.”
