Inmates Leave Logan Hall During Hurricane Sandy

Logan Hall is a privately-run re-entry facility for inmates located in Newark.

Essex County officials said Tuesday that two inmates from the county and three from the state prison system escaped the facility during the storm.

Little information was available except that the county Corrections Dept. Internal Affairs division is investigating the escape. Newark Police have been notified. The names of the inmates were not immediately known.

According to the Essex County website, the county has contracted with Community Education Centers Inc., a privately-run corrections agency that runs Logan Hall, for 10 years.

At Logan Hall, inmates have access to anger management, life skills training and drug and alcohol abuse treatment programs, designed to help them readjust when they re-enter the community. The county has said it is more cost-effective to house the inmates at Logan Hall - $68 a day compared to $118 a day at the county jail.

Logan Hall opened in June 2004. Residents are referred through the New Jersey State Parole Board, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and Union County, New Jersey. It is located at 20 Toler Place in Newark.