Crime & Safety
As County Jails Consolidate, More Inmates Now Housed In Morris
This agreement will also see Somerset County pay a daily fee to Morris County per inmate; about 80 detainees have been moved so far.
MORRIS TOWNSHIP, NJ — Nearly 80 detainees from the Somerset County Jail have been moved to the Morris County Correctional Facility, under an agreement officials say is aimed at keeping one county's jail afloat while benefiting taxpayers in the other county.
The county commissioners in both Morris and Somerset counties have approved a shared services agreement, which will see Somerset send some adult detainees to Morris County.
This agreement sees Somerset County pay Morris pay $115 per day for each inmate, as MyCentralJersey.com reported.
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Somerset County began reducing operations at their jail in Somerville last year, and about 40 employees have either retired or been lost to attrition. That jail will now operate on a limited basis with the short-term housing of people who are scheduled for court hearings.
People serving longer sentences or being held for longer periods will be served by the Morris County facility in Morris Township. Sheriff James Gannon said they will have access to the county re-entry program, educational and vocational training, and other programs aimed at reducing recidivism.
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“It cuts operational expenses for Morris County while ensuring those in custody from Somerset County are well cared for," Gannon said.
Morris County is also in its fifth year of a shared services agreement with Sussex County, and currently holds about 55 detainees from that county's jail.
The correctional facility has a capacity to hold 524 incarcerated people, and has a reported population 304 as of Tuesday with the three counties' populations combined.
There were 144 officers at the facility as of a January report by NJ Monitor.
Officials say the number of inmates statewide has decreased since New Jersey largely eliminated cash bail, and populations dropped further during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Morris County jail was at the center of separate lawsuits filed in Nov. 2022 and Jan. 2023, both alleging discrimination and mistreatment by corrections officers.
Patch's Alexis Tarrazi contributed to this article.
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