Devon Brown, who has nearly three decades of experience in the correctional field, officially became commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections on April 5, 2002, when he was sworn into his new post in a ceremony that included remarks by Governor James E. McGreevey.

The appointment represented a homecoming of sorts for Commissioner Brown, who launched his professional career with the New Jersey Department of Institutions and Agencies back in 1974 -- a few years before the entity evolved into the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

Both Commissioner Brown and newly appointed Chief of Staff Charles Ellis, who began his career with the Department of Corrections in 1976 as a correction officer at New Jersey State Prison, formally assumed their duties on April 8. That day, the new commissioner made a pledge.

"I intend to provide leadership directed toward improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department of Corrections," said Commissioner Brown, who succeeded now-retired Acting Commissioner Susan L. Maurer, who had been a state employee since 1972. "I look forward to working with the department's staff to successfully address the challenges that lie ahead." Indeed, examples of the department's "efficiency and effectiveness" abounded throughout the year. The 002 Committee, in its second year of operation, was responsible for the department's 53 percent reduction of custody overtime costs from $71 million in the fiscal year 2000 to $33.5 million in FY02.

Education always has been a priority for Commissioner Brown, who earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland School of Law, a Master of Public Administration Degree from the University of Baltimore, a Master of Arts Degree in psychology from the University of Toledo and has completed all requirements for two Ph.D. degrees from this school with the exception of the doctoral dissertation. The value the commissioner places on education fits in with the department's philosophy that inmates should be better coming out of NJDOC facilities than they were going in. Thus, Commissioner Brown is overseeing an initiative to assure that resources are available to enhance the educational level of the inmates.

While the classroom is the conventional mode of educational enhancement, inmates may now take advantage "Television for Educational Use," through which videos produced by the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, the Biography Channel and Arts & Entertainment are viewed. These videos represent a wide array of award-winning documentaries and other programs that serve to expand intellectual horizons. Each facility shows educational videos at designated hours by way of a controlled channel, reserved strictly for educational video viewing. By controlling what offenders can watch during a portion of the day, we may capture an inmate's imagination and spark an interest in further exploration of a given subject.

Inmates from every NJDOC facility are gaining insights on economics through their participation in the Stock Market Game. Offenders are learning, among other lessons, the risks and rewards of investing in the stock market, how to analyze information about companies and industries, and how to buy, sell and track stocks. Four- and five-person teams of offenders compete against public school students as well as each other.

An on-line offender search engine has been developed that can be accessed on the NJDOC Web site (www.state.nj.us/corrections). The search engine provides such information as an inmate's location, status and projected release date, thereby allowing victims, family members, law enforcement agencies and others to instantaneously access information about an offender from any personal computer. The search engine received more than 167,000 hits in its first three days of operation.

The contract for the provision of Therapeutic Community treatment services transitioned from the prior service provider to the Gateway Foundation, Inc., of Chicago Illinois. Gateway brings more than 30 years' experience in the field of Therapeutic Community (TC) treatment. The Office of Drug Programs serves as the manager of the NJDOC's contract with Gateway Foundation, Inc., and oversees and monitors the quality of all of the prison-based TC programs.

The Department of Corrections raised more than $75,000 for Special Olympics through its involvement in numerous fundraising events. The funds raised were provided through sponsorship money from a trio of unions representing the officers: the Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 105, the Law Enforcement Supervisors Association and the Law Enforcement Superior Officers Association. Hundreds of officers took part in such activities as the Law Enforcement Torch Run, the Polar Bear Plunge, the Law Enforcement Golf Classic and an airplane pull at Newark Airport. The Department of Corrections was approached by the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of Delaware to participate in the

In tandem with the Department of Agriculture's Jersey Fresh initiative, New Jersey produce was purchased and utilized by Department of Corrections facilities, saving money and ensuring that local farmers could sell their crops at fair market value.

Through the Office of Chaplaincy Services, the department introduced the Chaplaincy Network Program, a faith-based mentoring initiative in which the NJDOC and religious communities throughout the state help assist incarcerated individuals as they make the transition back into society. The Office of Chaplaincy Services also was instrumental in the formation of the Islamic Consulting Committee, which addresses the concerns of Islamic chaplains relating to the inmate population to whom the chaplains minister.

Several facilities took steps to help their inmates secure future employment by hosting job fairs, which brought together potential employers and the incarcerated population. The job fairs, which included dozens of vendors, gave inmates a realistic view of the employment market and exposed them to the process by which a potential employer is approached, an interview is conducted, and a job is secured. New Jersey Network began work on a documentary highlighting the positive impact vocational programs have on incarcerated youth. The documentary will focus on the Burlington County Institute of Technology's contracted educational programs in the minimum security housing units at Garden State Youth Correctional Facility.

In a separate initiative conducted by the Burlington County Institute of Technology, approximately four dozen inmate-students graduated from the institute's heavy equipment and landscape programs at Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility.

The Level of Assignment Management Program (L.A.M.P.), an initiative to promote inmate responsibility, was launched at Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility. The initiative contains graduated levels of privileges awarded to offenders based on such factors as adjustment and program participation. As a result of the graded-level approach, incentives for desirable behavior and disincentives for undesirable behavior are actually incorporated into specific housing unit regulations.

The Gang Awareness and Prevention Program (GAPP) continued to impact on young people throughout the state. GAPP was developed in November 2001 by Principal Investigator Ron Holvey of the department's Special Investigations Division, Intelligence Section, in response to the all-pervasive gang problem, and its proliferation among youth, in urban and suburban areas. Working in concert with the state's Division of Criminal Justice, Holvey came up with the idea of bringing former gang members, still incarcerated, to share their stories with New Jersey's young people. A speaker must successfully complete the Security Threat Group Management Unit program at Northern State Prison in Newark and have earned minimum custody status to permit his being allowed out of the prison.

Harry Camisa announced his retirement following a career as an NJDOC employee that dates back to 1950. Camisa spent 30 years as a correction officer, followed by more than two decades as an educator. He was a fixture at New Jersey State Prison until 1998, when he transferred to the Central Reception and Assignment Facility and, in 2000, Garden State Youth Correctional Facility. During the Bureau of Training graduation ceremony in July, he was honored by Governor McGreevey and Commissioner Brown.