Expanded Surveillance System  Being Installed At Garner CI

By Andrew Gorosko

The warden of Garner Correctional Institution, the state’s high-security prison on Nunnawauk Road, told members of the town’s Public Safety Committee this week that installation work is underway on the prison’s new expanded and improved video surveillance system, which is intended to more thoroughly and clearly monitor activity at the 245,000-square-foot prison.

Warden James Dzurenda said on September 19 that about 40 percent of the installation work has been completed, adding that the project is expected to be finished by December. The project will add 72 cameras to the prison’s existing complement of 162 surveillance cameras, bringing the total number of cameras to more than 230.

Much of the work in installing the surveillance system involves routing electronic cabling through the prison to locations where cameras will be positioned. Besides the installation of 72 new cameras, the existing cameras at Garner will be upgraded.

Warden Dzurenda said when the new surveillance system is in operation, it will be simpler for prison staff members to provide state police with visual evidence to be used in state police investigations of prison incidents. That visual evidence will be recorded on DVDs, which state police can then easily review, he said.

Obtaining evidence from the current system is a more cumbersome process, involving the use of specialized videotape machines.

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

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.

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

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

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

As of September 19, Garner held 561 male inmates, 469 of whom are categorized as mental health inmates, with the other 92 listed as general prisoners.

Garner is the state prison designated to house inmates with serious mental disorders. Garner is a Level 4 prison in a prison system in which the highest security rating is Level 5. It opened in 1992.

The public safety panel meets quarterly to address public safety issues posed by the presence of Garner.