By James Quirk
Herald News
PASSAIC COUNTY, N.J. — More than 100 corrections officers from the Passaic County Jail took to the streets of the county Saturday to deliver pamphlets opposing a plan to close the facility.
The officers visited the county’s 16 municipalities, distributing 50,000 fliers in downtowns and other high-traffic areas.
The full-color, glossy tri-fold pamphlet presents Correction Officers PBA Local 197’s argument that closing the jail would decrease the effectiveness of law enforcement countywide and end an array of specialized services, like K-9 units, Hazmat, the bomb squad and hostage negotiation.
The fliers cost the PBA about $5,000, said Capt. Joe DeFranco, president of the local. The corrections officers’ PBA has also started a Facebook page, “Stop the Closing of Passaic County Jail and the Shutdown of PBA #197,” which had 1,307 fans as of Saturday night.
About 15 officials from Passaic, Essex and Bergen counties — from wardens to freeholders to administrators — attended a meeting Thursday night to discuss closing the jail. The plan calls for sending about 40 percent of Passaic’s nearly 1,000 inmates to the Bergen County Jail and 60 percent to Essex County, whose jail is the largest of the three.
The news media were not invited to Thursday’s meeting, nor were union representatives or community leaders. The exclusion has outraged religious leaders, including the Rev. Michael McDuffie, president of the Paterson Pastor’s Workshop/Clergy on Fire and senior pastor of the Mighty Sons of God Fellowship Church in Paterson.
McDuffie said he and other Passaic County clergy leaders were uniting with the 325 members of the PBA local to oppose the closing.
“There are 21 counties in New Jersey, and Passaic County would be the only one without a jail,” the minister said. “Why does this always come down on the backs of the people of Paterson? I want to know who is behind this. We’re going to fight this with all our heart.”
Passaic County Administrator Anthony De Nova has said closing the jail could save about $20 million a year in salaries, operations and maintenance costs.
De Nova could not be reached for comment Saturday.
Union officials say the savings would be nominal compared with the loss of jobs and specialized services the closing would cause.
“The only people who will see any benefits are people in Essex and Bergen counties, who will profit by us selling inmates to them,” DeFranco said.
The PBA, clergy members and community leaders have planned a protest rally at the Passaic County Administration Building on Tuesday at 5 p.m., just before the freeholders’ public meeting.
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