Camden's riverfront jail to close

Riverfront State Prison, long considered a blemish on the Camden waterfront and an obstacle to economic revitalization, will close this summer, according to a tentative plan announced yesterday by the state Department of Corrections.

The population of the medium-security facility is 798, down from more than 1,000 in 2006, state authorities said. The prison has stopped accepting new inmates.

The decrease reflects a reduction in prisoners statewide, due largely to a drop in crime, said Deirdre Fedkenheuer, a spokeswoman for the Corrections Department.

"The overall population has dropped considerably, and the City of Camden has made it clear that they want the waterfront used for something other than a correctional facility," she said.

The closure fulfills a promise made by Gov. Corzine to liberate one of the best pieces of real estate in the city.

Neighborhood groups last year wrote a redevelopment plan that envisioned parkland and mixed-use development on the site of the prison, directly north of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

The facility is said to offer a striking view of the Philadelphia skyline from its watchtowers. Its presence since 1985 has slowed redevelopment in the North Camden neighborhood, residents say.

"Wonderful, that's great news," said Rodney Sadler, president of Save Our Waterfront, which sought the prison's removal.

The unions representing the prison's almost 400 law-enforcement officers have a different take. They recently began an ad campaign warning people to "Lock your doors!" The suggestion is that inmates could be released into the community.

The Department of Corrections said prisoners would simply be transferred over the next few months to 13 other state penal institutions.

But Jim Messier, president of the New Jersey Law Enforcement Supervisors Association, said the closure was part of a larger state policy to release inmates sooner, posing a threat to the community.