Van Drew blasts overcrowding and heat at Cumberland County prison
Van Drew cited a state oversight report showing inmates at Bayside State Prison were packed two to a cell, eating in their cells and sweating through mid-90s heat.
Inspectors from the Office of the Corrections Ombudsperson visited Bayside State Prison in Maurice River Township on Oct. 6-8, 2025, and returned on Jan. 21, 2026. Many inmates are housed two to a cell designed for one person, and temperatures can climb into the mid-90s inside cells and common areas during the summer. Rep. Jeff Van Drew said on June 23 that Bayside has overcrowding, extreme heat and unsanitary conditions. Bayside houses about 1,270 inmates in Cumberland County.
The prison’s dining hall has been closed for years, forcing all meals to be served in cells. The ombudsperson recommended reopening the dining hall or, if that is not feasible, allowing meals in housing-unit day rooms or outdoor courtyards when weather permits. Van Drew said state leaders should not ignore the crowding, heat and locked-in meals at a prison they directly control.
Department of Corrections Commissioner Victoria Kuhn rejected the recommendation to reopen the cafeteria. She said it was closed in 1997 after an inmate murdered a corrections officer, and reopening it would be too costly, would require more staff and could create security problems. The report renewed calls for lawmakers to fund air conditioning at Bayside.
Bayside has out-of-cell time, rehabilitative programming, recreation, education and work opportunities.
Van Drew said state officials have been quick to protest conditions at Delaney Hall while not showing the same outrage over Bayside. He said state leaders should put money into the prisons they run and improve conditions for correctional officers and inmates rather than spending more than $20 million on legal defense for undocumented immigrants.
A 2024 report from the Office of the New Jersey State Comptroller found deficiencies in DOC internal investigations and identified two Bayside incidents involving apparent excessive force. In Cumberland County, correctional conditions also drew federal attention in a 2022 Justice Department complaint and proposed consent decree over the county jail.
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