New Jersey County Jails
The New Jersey County Jail System (NJCJS) is collectively operated by each of the state's 21 counties. Each county is responsible for the safe, secure detention of individuals committed to their custody who have either been charged with a crime and are pending case disposition or who have been convicted of a crime and sentenced to a period of incarceration of one year or less. On any given day, the NJCJS has in its custody approximately 15,000 inmates. Each county has at least one correctional facility (a.k.a. jail), with 22 county correctional facilities in New Jersey. In thirteen counties, the operation of the county jail is a responsibility and function of a County Department of Corrections, while in the remaining eight counties, it is a responsibility and function of the Sheriff's Office. Every county correctional facility operates under the direction and management of a Warden, Director, or Undersheriff.
In addition to the 22 county correctional facilities, there are three privately owned and operated residential reentry facilities in New Jersey that house county inmates on a contract basis.
Passaic County Inmates are Being Housed in the Bergen and Hudson County Jail
Officials from the Counties of Bergen and Passaic reached an agreement at the end of 2021 in which Bergen County assumed the custody and care of all Passaic County inmates. Under the terms of the agreement, Bergen County receives $104 per day for each inmate housed at the Bergen County Jail for the first two years of the agreement. According to news reports, the rate increases over the 10-year contract. Passaic County can transfer up to 700 inmates to Bergen County.
Bergen County entered into a shared services agreement with Hudson County to assume responsibility for the female inmate population for Bergen and Passaic County.