When Ernest Sutton was appointed correctional administrator of the facility in June 1999, he said his biggest challenge was that it was a fairly new institution with a predominately young and inexperienced staff. My top priority was to build morale. The staff has done an outstanding job of bonding and being a part of the team. Pasquotank Correctional Institution was built using the same design as Foothills and Marion correctional institutions in western North Carolina. The prison is comprised of one large building, which includes inmate housing, visiting area, recreation area, dining hall, warehouse, vocational and academic classrooms, programs, medical and mental health offices and administrative offices and a separate satellite building which houses the minimum custody inmates.
Inmates work in kitchen, janitorial and maintenance duties in the prison.
Minimum-security inmates work in community work squads, Department of Transportation squads, Albemarle Food Bank, and for Pasquotank County recycling. The College of the Albemarle provides a variety of programs, which include cooking, electrical installation, carpentry, and HVAC courses. ABE and GED educational programs are also provided. Van F. Barnes , left, is assistant superintendent of custody and operations. He has worked for the Department nearly 32 years.