Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE -- Gwinnett's corrections department received national accreditation, extending the honor first received in 2009.

"This achievement shows that we meet or exceed rigorous standards for administrative and fiscal controls, staff training and development, physical plant, rules and discipline, safety and emergency procedures, offender health care, sanitation and food service," Warden David Peek said.

Earlier this year, a team of auditors from the American Correctional Association spent three days examining documents, viewing operations, and interviewing staff members and inmates, a press release said. The findings went to the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections, which granted the three-year accreditation July 22.

"This process involves a grueling series of reviews, evaluations, audits and hearings, but I'm not surprised that our dedicated staff passed all these tests with flying colors," Commission Chairwoman Charlotte Nash said.

The department operates an 800-bed correctional complex in Lawrenceville that houses both state and county inmates. Some inmates work on supervised crews that provide janitorial and landscaping services at county-owned buildings, parks and roadways, the release said.

"This renewal means that our staff is maintaining the same high quality standards," Peek said.