Karen Taylor and Christopher Foschini were promoted Tuesday.
CAMDEN -- With more than 40 years of law enforcement experience between them, Karen Taylor and Christopher Foschini were officially promoted Tuesday to top positions that will oversee Camden County Correctional Facility operations.
Camden County Correctional Facility Warden Karen Taylor, left, is sworn in by jail Director David S. Owens Jr., center, and Camden County Freeholder Jonathan Young, right, Oct. 25, 2016. (Greg Adomaitis | For NJ.com) At the gathering, David S. Owens Jr. -- the former warden who is now the facility's director -- called the duo his "strong right arms over the past two years."
"This was not a capricious decision," Owens said of the appointments he recommenced to the freeholder board, adding that the two took on "larger and larger" responsibilities for the department as years went on.
With the promotion, Taylor steps up from an administrative captain position created following two 2015 retirements to become Camden County's first female warden.
"It's an honor to do this job," Taylor said, noting that she'd like to see more mentoring opportunities offered to inmates.
"This is a historic day for this institution and I'm proud to stand with Warden Taylor as we break another glass ceiling in law enforcement here in Camden County," Camden County Freeholder Jonathan Young, who is also the county's public safety liaison, said.
Population manager to deal with overcrowding
Foschini, of Laurel Springs, was also sworn in as the facility's new deputy warden. He started with the Camden County Department of Corrections in of 1995 and has held a variety of positions in the years since, including commander of both the Internal Affairs and Gang units.
"Reducing recidivism" and "expanding programs for inmates" to help lower prison population were two of the goals Foschini noted when asked of his hopes for the facility's future.
"We take the lawsuits very seriously and we will do our best" to address the concerns raised within, Owens said when the trio was asked about the inmate overcrowding claims that were recently raised in a slew of lawsuits. "Overcrowding should not be an issue."
As of Tuesday, the county jail, which has a maximum capacity of 1,273 people, held 1,220 inmates. According to the Courier-Post, inmates who filed numerous lawsuits without retaining lawyers claimed they were forced to sleep on the floor, shared cells with at least three others and suffered physical injuries as a result.
"From time to time," Owens said, the prison population will reach the jail's high water mark. "Our department is like any other law enforcement department; we will have our challenges."
Asked about corrections officers fired for allegedly exchanging racist text messages, Foschini -- who helped conduct the probe into the issue -- said the incident should serve as a wake-up call to others in uniform.
"To be professional at all times, to do your job with professionalism and that misconduct in this department will not be tolerated," he said when asked what message he's tried to convey to his officers since the scandal.
"We take an oath to fairly and impartially uphold the law," Owens continued.
Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.