New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 10A - CORRECTIONS › Chapter 1 - ADMINISTRATION, ORGANIZATION, AND MANAGEMENT › Subchapter 2 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 10A:1-2.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in N.J.A.C. 10A:1 through 10A:30, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Administrative segregation" means removal of an inmate from the general population of a correctional facility to a close custody unit because of one or more disciplinary infractions.
"Administrator" means an administrator or a superintendent who serves as the chief executive officer of any State correctional facility within the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
" A.D.T. C." means the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center which is the correctional facility designated to house persons who have been sentenced pursuant to 2C:47-1 et seq. and 2A:164-1 et seq.
"Adult county correctional facility" means any place, under the jurisdiction of a county, where adult persons convicted or accused of crimes are confined.
"Assistant Commissioner" means the chief executive officer of a Division within the Department of Corrections.
"Associate Administrator" means an assistant administrator or an assistant superintendent who is the ranking assistant to the Administrator of any State correctional facility within the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
"Asterisk offense" means a prohibited act preceded by a number and an asterisk that is considered the most serious and results in the most severe sanction(s). Asterisk offenses are in Categories A and B.
"Body cavity search" means the visual inspection or manual search of a person's anal or vaginal cavity.
"Body imaging scanning equipment" means equipment that utilizes a low-dose conventional x-ray transmission to produce an anatomical image of the inmate capable of identifying external and internal contraband.
"Business day(s)" means any single or consecutive days during which most businesses operate, Monday through Friday, excluding weekends or legal holidays.
"Calendar day(s)" means any single day or consecutive days, January 1 through December 31.
"Canine search" means a search conducted by a canine team consisting of a handler(s) and a dog(s) specially trained to discover and indicate to the handler(s) the presence of various substances, objects and/or materials.
"Central Communications Unit" means the centralized communication center within the Department of Corrections which coordinates certain functions of the Department of Corrections on a 24 hours per day, seven days per week basis.
"Central Control" means the unit which coordinates the security and communication functions within a correctional facility.
"Central Medical/Transportation Unit" means the centralized unit which provides transportation for inmates within the Department of Corrections.
"Central Reception and Assignment Facility (CRAF)" means the facility of the New Jersey Department of Corrections for inmate reception and correctional facility assignments.
"Chemical agent" means an aerosol spray which may be used to gain control of individuals who resist arrest or for the purpose of self-defense against an attack.
"Civil union" means the legally recognized union of two eligible individuals of the same sex established pursuant to 37:1-36. Parties to a civil union shall receive the same benefits and protections and be subject to the same responsibilities as spouses in a marriage.
"Civil union couple" means two persons who have established a civil union pursuant to 37:1-1 et seq., known as the Civil Union Act.
"Close Custody Unit" means an area within a correctional facility designated for assigning inmates who are removed from the general population for disciplinary or administrative reasons.
"Close observation" means intermittent monitoring of an inmate either in-person or by video monitor at 15 minute intervals.
"COHQ" means the Central Office Headquarters of the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
"Community Corrections Classification Committee (C-4)" means the Committee responsible for the assignment of a custody status and the placement of an inmate who has been returned from a residential community program to a correctional facility.
"Constant observation" means:
1. Uninterrupted surveillance of one inmate who is on suicide watch that shall be conducted in person or by video monitor when the video monitor provides continuous unobstructed vigilance of the inmate by one staff member; or
2. One minute interval surveillance of two inmates in adjacent cells by one staff member that shall be conducted in person or uninterrupted surveillance by one staff member of up to four inmates by video monitor when the video monitor provides continuous unobstructed vigilance of the inmates.
"Contact visit" means a visit between an inmate and a visitor where there is no barrier (such as a window or wall) between the inmate and visitor.
"Contraband" means:
1. Any item, article or material found in the possession of, or under the control of, an inmate which is not authorized for retention or receipt;
2. Any item, article or material found within the facility or on its grounds which has not been issued by the correctional facility or authorized as permissible for retention or receipt;
3. Any item, article or material found in the possession of, or under the control of, staff or visitors within the facility or on its grounds which is not authorized for receipt, retention or importation;
4. Any item, article or material that is authorized for receipt, retention or importation by inmates, staff or visitors but that is found in an excessive amount or that has been altered from its original form. An amount shall be considered excessive if it exceeds stated correctional facility limits or exceeds reasonable safety, security, sanitary, or space considerations; or
5. Any article that may be harmful or presents a threat to the security and orderly operation of the correctional facility shall be considered contraband. Items of contraband shall include, but shall not be limited to: guns and firearms of any type; ammunition; explosives; knives, tools and other implements not provided in accordance with correctional facility regulations; hazardous or poisonous chemicals and gases; unauthorized drugs and medications; medicines dispensed or approved by the correctional facility but not consumed or utilized in the manner prescribed; intoxicants, including, but not limited to, liquor or alcoholic beverages; and where prohibited, currency, stamps and electronic communication devices.
"Counsel substitute" means an individual, such as an inmate paralegal, teacher or social worker, who represents and defends an inmate at a disciplinary hearing proceeding that is conducted within a correctional facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections.
"Custody staff" except as otherwise provided, means Custody Supervisors, Senior Correction Officers and Correction Officer Recruits who have been sworn as peace officers.
"Custody status" means the custody assignment of an inmate. There are six categories:
1. Close custody;
2. Maximum custody;
3. Medium custody;
4. Gang minimum custody;
5. Minimum custody; and
6. Community custody.
"Deadly force" means force which a custody staff member uses with the purpose of causing, or which the custody staff member knows will create a substantial risk of causing, death or serious bodily harm.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
"Departmental Research Review Board (DRRB)" means the members of a board, authorized by the Commissioner or designee, responsible for the review of requests to conduct research within the Department of Corrections.
"Deputy Commissioner" means Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
"Detainer" means a warrant or formal authorization to hold an inmate for prosecution or detention by a Federal, state or local law enforcement agency or the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Detainers may include, but are not limited to:
1. Adjudicated criminal charges for which sentence has been imposed;
2. Criminal charges resulting from indictment, for which there is no final disposition (open charges);
3. Warrants for violation of parole or probation; and
4. Immigration detainers.
"Director" means the executive officer next in rank to the Assistant Commissioner (Chief Executive Officer) of a Division within the Department of Corrections.
"Disciplinary detention" shall mean removal of an inmate from the general population to a short-term close custody unit because of a disciplinary infraction(s).
"Disciplinary Hearing Officer" means a staff member of the Department of Corrections designated to hear and adjudicate inmate violations of prohibited acts.
"Disciplinary report" means a form on which a violation of a prohibited act is recorded along with other pertinent information.
"Disciplinary sanction" means a prescribed penalty that is imposed for violation of a prohibited act.
"Division of Operation" means the administrative unit that is responsible for the administration of all correction facilities within the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
"Division of Programs and Community Services" means the division within the Department of Corrections that is responsible for correctional facility and community-based program opportunities for inmates, which include the offices of Community Programs, Drug Programs, Educational Services, Transitional Services, and Internal Support and Outreach Services.
"DNA" means deoxyribonucleic acid.
"DNA sample" means a blood or other biological sample provided by any person pursuant to the DNA Database and Databank Act of 1994 (53:1-20.1 7 et seq.).
"Domestic partner" or "partner" means a person who is in a relationship that satisfies the definition of a domestic partnership as set forth in the New Jersey "Domestic Partnership Act," 26:8A-1 et seq.
"Electronic communication device" means a device or related equipment or peripheral that is capable of electronically receiving, transmitting, or storing a message, image, or data. Examples of such electronic devices include, but are not limited to, all types and sizes of a computer, telephone, two-way radio, camera or video/audio player/recorder, fax machine, pager or beeper, personal data assistant, hand-held e-mail system, or any other device containing a means of internet access or receiving, transmitting, or storing information electronically by means of audio, visual, or recorded data. Related equipment and/or peripheral also includes, but is not limited to, equipment and/or peripherals that can be used with an electronic communications device such as power cords, chargers, or any other tangible items.
"Electronic Monitoring Program (EMP)" means a program in which an inmate lives in the community and is monitored by an electronic monitoring device.
"Family member" means:
1. Spouse;
2. Domestic Partner;
3. Partner in a civil union couple;
4. Parent;
5. Stepparent;
6. Legal guardian;
7. Grandparent;
8. Child; or
9. Sibling.
"Experimentation" means the use of any healthcare intervention that has not been previously tested and approved for the community population.
"Firearm" means any hand gun, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, automatic or semi-automatic rifle, or any gun, device or instrument in the nature of a weapon from which may be fired or ejected any solid projectable ball, slug, pellet, missile, bullet, or any gas, vapor or other noxious thing, by means of a cartridge or shell or by the action of an explosive or the ignition of flammable or explosive substances. Firearm shall also include, without limitation, any firearm, which is in the nature of an air gun, spring gun or pistol or other weapon of a similar nature in which the propelling force is a spring, elastic band, carbon dioxide, compressed or other gas or vapor, air or compressed air, or is ignited by compressed air, and ejecting a bullet or missile smaller than three-eighths of an inch in diameter, with sufficient force to injure a person (see 2C:39-1 ).
"General population" means the common body of inmates not assigned to Close Custody Units (see N.J.A.C. 10A:5).
"Handbook on Discipline" means a handbook published by the Department of Corrections that is provided to inmates which contains an inmate's rights and responsibilities, the acts and activities which are prohibited and the disciplinary procedures and sanctions imposed.
"Housing unit" means a cell, dormitory or other type of sleeping area within a correctional facility.
"Increased custody" means assignment of an inmate to a custody level that requires more supervision.
"Indeterminate sentence" means a sentence of imprisonment which contains no fixed term of duration (see 30:4-148 ).
"Indigent inmate" means an inmate who has no funds in his or her account and is not able to earn inmate wages due to prolonged illness or any other uncontrollable circumstances, and who has been verified as having no outside source from which to obtain funds.
"Inmate handbook" means a booklet that is provided to inmates which contains site-specific correctional facility rules and procedures, and information about services and programs. An Inmate Handbook may also mean a unit-specific handbook when identified as such. Such unit-specific handbooks shall be provided to inmates who are assigned to certain units, such as, but not limited to, a Close Custody Unit.
"Inmate Liaison Committee" means an inmate group made up of inmate representatives, authorized by the correctional facility administration to act on behalf of the inmate population of the correctional facility. Such an inmate committee may be known as something other than an "Inmate Liaison Committee."
"Inmate personal property" means items owned by an inmate which have been approved for retention by the inmate while incarcerated in a correctional facility. Inmate personal property may also be property held by a correctional facility on behalf of an inmate and handled in accordance with N.J.A.C. 10A:1-11.
"Inmate Remedy System" means the comprehensive system through which an inmate may initially and formally submit a "Inquiry Form" and/or an "Inmate Grievance Form" in order to obtain information, and to present issues, concerns, and/or complaints in writing to the correctional facility staff. The Inmate Remedy System also includes an "Administrative Appeal" through which inmates are encouraged to formally appeal to the Administrator or designee the decision or finding rendered by correctional facility staff in regard to the "Inmate Inquiry Form" or "Inmate Grievance Form" that was previously presented by the inmate. The comprehensive Inmate Remedy System consists of:
1. An "Inmate Inquiry Form";
2. An "Inmate Grievance Form"; and
3. An "Administrative Appeal."
"Institutional Classification Committee (I.C.C.)" means the committee of correctional facility staff members responsible for monitoring an inmate's progress and assigning the inmate to appropriate programs or activities. The I.C.C. may consist of subcommittees as deemed necessary.
"Institutional Classification Reception Committee (I.C.R.C.)" means the committee of staff members responsible for determining the initial custody status and correctional facility assignments of male inmates; the custody status and correctional facility assignments of male parole violators, escapees, and Interstate Corrections Compact transferees; and for recommending inmates at an intake facility who are considered appropriate for Protective Custody.
"Internal Management Procedures" means procedures that are issued by the correctional facility/unit Administrator or supervisor or designee to provide specific operating procedures for that particular correctional facility/unit.
"Keep separate status" means the intentional assignment of certain inmates to different correctional facilities or different units within a correctional facility, so as to maintain a separation between these inmates for administrative reasons to ensure the safe, secure and orderly operation of the correctional facility and/or in order to prevent the possibility of retaliation because of a previous act or occurrence.
"Lawfully confined" means custodial confinement in a municipal detention facility, county correctional facility or a Department of Corrections facility.
"Legal correspondence" means the exchange of letters between an inmate and:
1. An attorney of this State or any other state when properly identified as such on the outside of the envelope;
2. Offices of the Federal or State Public Defender;
3. The Office of the Attorney General;
4. Federal, State, county and municipal courts;
5. Federal, State, county and municipal court judges;
6. Offices of Legal Services;
7. Legal assistance clinics managed by accredited law schools of this or any other state;
8. The Administrative Office of the Courts;
9. Offices of the Federal, State or county Prosecutor;
10. A foreign consul;
11. The Bureau of Risk Management, New Jersey Department of the Treasury;
12. The Special Investigations Division, Department of Corrections;
13. The Corrections Ombudsperson; and
14. The Office of Administrative Law.
"Legal material" means papers or documents that are required to be filed with the court and served upon opposing parties. Legal material includes:
1. Orders required by their terms to be served;
2. Written notices;
3. Written motions;
4. Demands, or answers to demands which the inmate is required to serve, such as, for the production of documents for interrogatories;
5. Offers of judgment;
6. Designations of records on appeal;
7. Briefs;
8. Petitions;
9. Summons; and
10. Complaints.
"Mechanical restraints" means restraining devices such as, but not limited to, handcuffs, flex cuffs, leg irons, and belly chains.
"News media representative" means an individual with valid press credentials who provides any means of communication to the public.
" Non-asterisk offense" means a prohibited act that is considered less serious and results in a less severe sanction(s). Non-asterisk offenses are in Category C, Category D, and Category E.
"Non-contact visit" means a visit between an inmate and a visitor where there is a barrier, such as, but not limited to, a window or wall between the inmate and the visitor.
"Non-deadly force" means force which is not likely to cause death or serious bodily harm.
"Non-permissible property" means property that is not identified, or exceeds the permitted amount indicated on a list of permissible property. Examples of non-permissible property include, but are not limited to, any item addressed to or received by an inmate from or someone or someplace that is not an authorized source of sale, an unauthorized item received by an inmate through the mail from an authorized source of sale, an item retained by the inmate who receives notice that such item has been deleted from the permissible property list, or an item the inmate has in his or her possession that was permitted in a certain unit or facility that is not permitted in another unit or facility.
"Objective classification" means the standardized evaluation and custody assignment score of an inmate based on the following criteria:
1. Severity of current offense;
2. Prior assaultive offense history;
3. Escape history;
4. History of correctional facility violence;
5. Prior felony convictions (initial only);
6. Education (initial only);
7. Employment (initial only);
8. Age;
9. Number of disciplinary reports (reclassification only);
10. Most severe disciplinary infraction received (reclassification only);
11. Program participation (reclassification only); and
12. System overrides.
"Office of Community Programs" means the office within the Department of Corrections, Division of Programs and Community Services, responsible for overseeing Residential Community Release Programs, such as Assessment and Treatment Centers, halfway houses, and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs, which provide rehabilitative and treatment services for inmates prior to their release.
" On-the-spot correction" means the immediate imposition of a sanction upon an inmate for the violation of a minor prohibited act.
"Passive canine search" means a search conducted by a canine team consisting of a handler(s) and a dog(s) specially trained to discover and passively indicate to the handler(s) the presence of various substances and/or materials.
"Pat search" means a thorough search of a fully-clothed inmate, including the clothing and personal property in the inmate's possession.
"Personal information" means an individual's first name or first initial and last name that is linked with any one or more of the following data elements:
1. Social Security number;
2. Driver's license number or State identification card number; or
3. Account number or credit or debit card number, in combination with any required security code, access code or password that would permit access to an individual's financial account.
Dissociated data that, if linked, would constitute personal information is personal information if the means to link the dissociated data were accessed in connection with access to the dissociated data. Personal information shall not include publicly available information that is lawfully made available to the general public from Federal, state or local government records, or widely distributed media (see 56:8-161 ).
"Prehearing detention" means removal of an inmate from the general population pending an investigation and a hearing into an alleged violation of a prohibited act.
"Prehearing disciplinary housing" means removal of an inmate from the general population or any other housing unit of a correctional facility to a short-term close custody unit, pending an investigation and a hearing into an alleged violation of a prohibited act.
"Prehearing Protective Custody" means the removal of an inmate from the general population by confinement to the inmate's cell or placement into a Close Custody Unit pending an investigation and a hearing into the need for Protective Custody placement.
"Prison Complex" means state correctional facilities designated to house inmates serving prison sentences.
"Probable cause" means reasonable ground(s) of suspicion, supported by circumstances sufficiently strong to warrant a cautious person to believe that criminal activity is taking place.
"Prohibited act" means conduct in violation of rules and regulations which will result in the imposition of sanctions.
"Protective custody" means confinement to a secure unit designated to restrict or limit an inmate's activities and contacts with others, in order to provide protection to the inmate from injury or harm actually threatened, or reasonably believed to exist based on events, investigative reports, reports from an informant(s) or other reliable source(s) of information.
"Reasonable suspicion" means a belief that an action is necessary based upon specific and articulable facts that, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably support a conclusion.
"Regional institution" means the correctional facility designated to provide support services to a residential community program, such as, but not limited to, medical, security, administration, disciplinary returns and parole hearing scheduling.
"Relative" means:
1. Parent;
2. Legal guardian;
3. Partner in a civil union couple;
4. Spouse;
5. Domestic partner;
6. Child; or
7. Sibling.
"Research" means a systematic investigation, including research development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to general knowledge.
"Responsible health authority" means a designated person within a correctional facility who shall be a physician or health administrator, such as, but not limited to, an advanced practice nurse responsible for arranging health services to all inmates. When this authority is other than a physician, medical/clinical judgments rest with a designated licensed responsible physician.
"Scanning/testing device" means a mechanical and/or electronic instrument used to identify or to detect certain substances and materials.
"Scanning/testing device operator" means an individual specially trained and authorized by the Department to operate a scanning/testing device.
"Scanning/testing device search" means a search of a person or object by exposure to a mechanical and/or electronic instrument used to detect certain substances and materials.
"Security threat group" means a group of inmates possessing common characteristics, interests and goals that serve to distinguish the group or group members from other inmate groups or other inmates and which, as a discrete entity, poses a threat to the safety of the staff, other inmates, the community or causes damage to or destruction of property, or interrupts the safe, secure and orderly operation of the correctional facility(ies).
"Shift Commander" means the custody staff member holding a supervisory rank who has been designated by the Administrator or designee as being responsible for the maintenance of security during a tour of duty in a correctional facility or unit.
"Special Investigations Division," prior to November 17, 1999 known as the Internal Affairs Unit, means the unit responsible for conducting investigations at the discretion of the Commissioner or designee.
"Special needs inmate" means an inmate who suffers a DSM IV, axis I and/or axis II disorder which interferes with the inmate's ability to meet the functional requirements of prison life without mental health treatment.
"Staff" means all personnel who are hired by the Department of Corrections as employees.
"State" (upper case "S") means the State of New Jersey; "state" (lower case "s") means a state of the United States; the United States of America; a territory or possession of the United States; the District of Columbia; and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
"State DNA Databank" means the repository of DNA samples collected under the provisions of the DNA Database and Databank Act of 1994 (53:1-20.1 7 et seq.).
"Strip search" means the removal or rearrangement of clothing to permit visual inspection of the person's undergarments, buttocks, anus, genitals, or breasts.
"Suicide watch" means monitoring the activities, emotional status and behavior of inmates who are identified as emotionally troubled, mentally disturbed or otherwise deemed likely to inflict physical injury or death upon themselves.
"Weapon" means anything readily capable of lethal use or of inflicting serious bodily injury. The term includes, but is not limited to:
1. All firearms, even though not loaded or lacking a clip or other component to render them immediately operable;
2. All components that can be readily assembled into a weapon;
3. All gravity knives, switchblade knives, daggers, dirks, stilettos, or other dangerous knives, billies, blackjacks, bludgeons, metal knuckles, sandclubs, slingshots, cesti or similar leather bands studded with metal filings or razor blades imbedded in wood;
4. All stun guns; and
5. Any weapon or other device, which projects, releases, or emits a compressed gas or tear gas or any other substance or electrical signal intended to produce temporary physical discomfort or permanent injury through being vaporized or otherwise dispensed in the air (see 2C:39-1 ).
"Youth Complex" means State correctional facilities designated to house young adult offenders pursuant to 30:4-146.
"Zero Tolerance Drug/Alcohol Policy" means a zero tolerance for the possession/sale/use by State prison inmates of any drugs, intoxicants or narcotic paraphernalia not prescribed for the inmate by medical or dental staff. This policy establishes that inmates found guilty of drug/alcohol related prohibited acts as set forth in 10A:4-5.1(c) shall have their contact visit privileges terminated while housed in New Jersey State prisons and correctional facilities in addition to being subject to administrative action and program requirements in accordance with N.J.A.C. 10A:4, Inmate Discipline.
"Zero Tolerance for Misuse or Possession of an Electronic Communication Device Policy" means a zero tolerance for the misuse, possession, distribution, sale, or intent to distribute or sell, an electronic communication device that is not authorized for use or retention. This policy establishes that inmates who are found guilty of an electronic communication device related prohibited act as set forth in 10A:4-4.1, 5.1, and 12 shall have their contact visit privileges terminated and shall be ineligible for consideration for any custody status lower than medium custody until after the contact visit privileges are reinstated in addition to being subject to administrative action and program requirements in accordance with N.J.A.C. 10A:4, Inmate Discipline.
"Zero Tolerance of the Incidence of Sexual Assault" means the zero tolerance policy maintained by the Department for the incidence of sexual assault in accordance with the Federal Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 15601 et seq. (see N.J.A.C. 10A:4-12).