TRENTON — The Department of Corrections graduated a new class of officers today, sending 102 recruits into one of the toughest law enforcement jobs in New Jersey. At the ceremony in Trenton, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and other state officials commended the graduates for finishing a rigorous training program. Recruits collectively shed 812 pounds, ran more than 3,000 miles...
TRENTON — The Department of Corrections graduated a new class of officers today, sending 102 recruits into one of the toughest law enforcement jobs in New Jersey.
At the ceremony in Trenton, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and other state officials commended the graduates for finishing a rigorous training program. Recruits collectively shed 812 pounds, ran more than 3,000 miles and received more than 1,000 hours of instruction over 15 weeks, officials said.
Guadagno, a former Monmouth County sheriff, said that preparation made them the "best-trained corrections officers not only in New Jersey but in the country," and will be key to handling the demands of policing the state’s prisons.
Graduates marched into Trenton’s War Memorial accompanied by a bagpipe processional and amid cheers from family members. With a rough economy, many still see a job in prisons as a ticket to a comfortable middle-class life.
Katie Karmazin, 27, of Sayreville, said she was already working in the prison system as a communications operator in East Jersey State Prison, but became an officer for the better pay and the tight-knit law enforcement community.
Joseph Ware encouraged his son Joseph Jr., 25, of Vineland, a former factory fork-lift operator, to apply to the academy. Ware, 47, a corrections officer of more than nine years, said even with the move to reduce public-employee pensions, corrections officers can look forward to a good career.
"It can be rough at times," he said. "But the pay is good."
Guadagno said 48 of 102 graduates had relatives in law enforcement.
In the last three years, 965 officers have retired. Corrections graduated 800 officers in the same time period, and 198 recruits were in training as of today.
"They’re replacing officers that are leaving," said Corrections Commissioner Gary Lanigan. "Not hiring them would drive overtime up."
By Salvador Rizzo and Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau staff