Hudson County Correctional Facility
Hudson County Correctional Facility is a prison operated by Hudson County, New Jersey located in Kearny, New Jersey. It houses separate wards for women and men. The facility is one of the many regional centers used by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the New York metropolitan area.
History
The predecessor building to the current Hudson County Correctional Facility first opened in 1845 next to the original Hudson County Court House as a small jail located in Jersey City. Over the years new jail facilities were constructed in the county with new facilities built in Secaucus in 1926, to the current jail located in Kearny which was built in 1990.Five facility employees, including a corrections officer, died during COVID-19.
Controversies
Prisoner conditions
Hudson County Correctional Facility has had several reports in recent years about conditions for prisoners at the facility. In February 2018 Human Rights First published Ailing Justice: New Jersey, a report about three New Jersey prison facilities found prisoners at HCCF overall were provided poor quality medical care, were given poor quality food lacking nutrition, and food were served on dishes that were unwashed or washed with dirty water.Mental health facilities were also called out in this same report, with the report concluding that the program "may actually discourage people from seeking mental health care and may contribute to suicidal inclinations".