Michael F. Easley
Governor

Theodis Beck
Secretary

North Carolina Department of Correction

10 North Carolina prisons earn national accreditation

 RALEIGH – Ten of North Carolina’s largest high-security prisons received accreditation this week from the American Correctional Association (ACA).  The accreditation awards presented at the ACA convention in New Orleans make the culmination of a year-long process for these prison facilities.

 The 10 close-custody prison facilities receiving accreditation are: Alexander Correctional Institution, Taylorsville; Bertie Correctional Institution, Windsor; Central Prison, Raleigh; Foothills Correctional Institution, Morganton; Lanesboro Correctional Institution, Polkton; Marion Correctional Institution, Marion; Maury Correctional Institution, Maury; North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, Raleigh; Pasquotank Correctional Institution, Elizabeth City and Scotland Correctional Institution, Laurinburg.

 “These are the highest standards that American prisons can achieve and striving to meet them has made our operations safer, more consistent with national best practices and better able to avoid litigation,” said Boyd Bennett, director of the Division of Prisons.  “I’m extremely proud of our employees who have worked so hard to ensure compliance and make this a reality.”

 The ACA accreditation program is a professional peer review process based on national standards developed by leaders from the field of corrections, law enforcement, architecture and health care.  Through accreditation, an agency is able to maintain a balance between protecting the public and providing an environment that safeguards the life, health, and safety of staff and offenders. Standards set by ACA reflect practical up-to-date policies and procedures and function as a management tool for over 1,200 correctional agencies in the United States.

Teams of ACA auditors visited each prison facility to ensure compliance with more than 500 standards in areas such as administration, training, records management, information systems, citizen involvement, physical plant, safety, security, emergency procedures, inmate rights, medical care, educational programs and sanitation.

 The accreditation is awarded for a three-year period, after which auditors will return to re-evaluate the prisons.  The Division of Prisons Central Office in Raleigh received its three-year accreditation in January 2008. 

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North Carolina Department of Correction
Public Information Office     4202 Mail Service Center     Raleigh NC 27699-4202
Phone (919) 716-3700      Fax: (919) 716-3795     www.doc.state.nc.us