Corrections Commissioner Gary Lanigan says the 240-bed unit at Northern State Prison in Newark often has a vacancy of about 100 beds. Lanigan says closing it will save about $5 million.
The commissioner says inmate files will be reviewed to determine where best to transfer them. He doesn't believe mixing them with other inmates will cause problems.
The number of inmates in Garden State prisons dropped from 25,969 in 2009 to 25,668 this year. Each inmate costs the state $38,115 a year.
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Information from: The Record of Bergen County
