History The Captain John Pennington Property The first jail in Atlantic County (1837) was in a spring house on Captain John Pennington's property in Mays Landing, about a half mile down River Road. In 1840, a permanent jail was completed. It was a 28 by 40 feet sandstone structure designed by Thomas Ustik Walter, a Philadelphia architect best known for his work on the U.S. Capitol and its dome. This jail housed prisoners until 1932 and was then used for vocational training. For a short time in the 1970s, it was used for document storage. Other jails were completed in 1932 and then in 1962. The present Atlantic County Justice Facility was opened in September 1985. However, since the splitting of the Sheriff's Office in September 1987, the Department of Public Safety now controls the facility. Gerard L. Gormley Justice Facility The Gerard L. Gormley Justice Facility opened in 1985 and was built to house 398 inmates. Since that time, the facility has undergone substantial growth and expansion. It now houses an average of 1000 inmates with custody jurisdiction over an additional 250 inmates who are sentenced to various community programs. The Atlantic County Department of Public Safety is charged with the operation of the Justice Facility. The New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts has recognized the Justice Facility's inmate classification program by incorporating it into its statewide computer system for use by all associated counties in New Jersey. In October 1997, the Justice Facility opened its Correctional Police Officers Academy, certified by the New Jersey Police Training Commission, and graduated its first class in January 1998. The Academy trains all Atlantic County Correction Officers at Atlantic County Community College, and will accept trainees from other New Jersey Counties. The Justice Facility is located at 5060 Atlantic Ave., Mays Landing, New Jersey. It is an Adult Detention Facility, housing male and female inmates who are pretrial, county sentenced, and in certain instances, state sentenced awaiting shipment or state inmates contracted to the Facility. The Facility has two main sections, the Main Jail Building and the Main Jail Annex. Structure Current Chain Of Command Structure Warden David Kelsey Deputy Warden Michael Kelly Captain Bruce Carber Captain Steven Iuluicci Captain Eric Matlock Community Release Programs Work Release Work Release permits inmate participants to leave the facility and work or study in the community. The operating parameters of Work Release are clearly