Garner Prison Surveillance System Expansion Slated 

By Andrew Gorosko

The state Department of Correction (DOC) soon plans to install an expanded and improved video surveillance system to more thoroughly and clearly monitor activities at the high-security Garner Correctional Institution, the 245,000-square-foot prison at 50 Nunnawauk Road.

Garner Warden James Dzurenda on June 6 told members of the Garner Correctional Institution Public Safety Committee that the DOC plans to start installing the new surveillance equipment in July. The panel meets quarterly to address public safety issues posed by the presence of Garner, which held 552 male inmates that day.

Garner is the DOC prison designated to house inmates with serious mental disorders. On June 6, 462 of the prisoners housed there were mental health inmates, with the 90 others constituting a general prison population. Garner is a “Level 4” prison in a prison system in which the highest security rating is “Level 5.” It opened in 1992.

The surveillance system upgrade will add 75 cameras to the prison’s current complement of 162 cameras, bringing the total number of cameras to 237, Warden Dzurenda said. New cameras will be added to the system and existing equipment will be upgraded, he said.

The new equipment will be digital, in contrast to the existing cameras which are analog designs, he said.

The current cameras record sequential time-lapse still frames to VHS videotape cassettes. The new cameras will record still frames more frequently and more clearly to DVD discs.

Consequently, the new surveillance system will record more individual still images across a given span of time than are now recorded by the current system. Also, the new equipment will record in color, in contrast to the current black-and-white gear.

Warden Dzurenda said the presence of the new equipment will be “a big plus for surveillance.”

The surveillance equipment expansion and upgrade is expected to cost approximately $300,000, he said.

Video surveillance is done in “common areas” within the prison such as cellblocks, corridors, and recreation areas, not in prisoners’ cells, the warden said. The installation of the new gear will provide correction officers with more complete coverage of the prison, the warden said.

After a prison incident occurs, the applicable recorded surveillance photos will be located and played back, providing visual evidence of the incident, the warden said.

The new equipment will be easier to use than existing equipment and will provide a more comprehensive visual record of activity within Garner, Warden Dzurenda said. The visual data collected by the equipment will provide a good base of information for investigations into prison incidents, he said.

The warden said he hopes the surveillance upgrade is completed by the end of this year. The entire state prison system is having its surveillance equipment upgraded, he noted.