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Anderson named warden at Piedmont Correctional Institution

News-Topic - 5/10/2022

May 9—RALEIGH — The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has named Ben Anderson as the new warden of the Piedmont Correctional Institution in Salisbury.

He had been the deputy warden at Central Prison in Raleigh.

"Warden Anderson has a remarkable depth and breadth of experience earned from two decades of service in our prison system," said Commissioner of Prisons Todd Ishee.

"He has served with excellence in a number of prisons with vastly different missions and focuses. He now joins our team of wardens who work so hard to protect the staff, the offenders, and our communities with caring and compassion," Ishee added.

In his new position, Anderson is responsible for all operations at Piedmont Correctional.

The facility houses minimum and medium custody male offenders and is a designated processing center where newly arrived offenders are evaluated for the proper housing and program assignments in the prison system.

A veteran of state government, Anderson began his career in 2000 as a correctional officer at Foothills Correctional Institution in Morganton and became a case manager there in 2003. He rose through the ranks in unit management until he was promoted in 2013 to assistant superintendent at Caldwell Correctional Center in Lenoir. In 2015, he was named assistant superintendent for programs at Alexander Correctional Institution.

In January 2019, he was promoted again to director of the Burke Confinement in Response to Violation (CRV) Center in Morganton.

The CRV centers house and provide intensive behavior modification programs for those who have committed technical violations of probation. CRV centers incarcerate violators for 90-day periods in response to violations of probation, parole or post-release supervision as provided in the Justice Reinvestment Act.

Later in 2019, Anderson returned to Foothills Correctional Institution as the associate warden for programs.

He was named deputy warden of the sprawling Central Prison complex in Raleigh in 2021.

A western North Carolina native, Anderson holds a degree in criminal justice from Western Piedmont Community College and is a graduate of the Department of Public Safety's Correctional Leadership Development Program.

He holds a correctional behavior health certificate from the American Correctional Association and earned an advanced criminal justice certification from the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.

His hobbies include travel, reading biographies, physical fitness, and the occasional 5K race.

One of Anderson's top priorities is to hire and retain high-quality staff members.

"We have good jobs for dedicated people who are interested in a career in public service, who want to help to protect their communities and serve a mission bigger than themselves," he said. "These are important jobs."

"I look forward to joining the team at Piedmont with a vision to provide services aimed at reducing recidivism and an opportunity for our incarcerated population to change their lives for the better," Anderson added. "We will do that through a culture of safety, transparency, and mutual respect. This work is important to our state and its citizens."

At Piedmont Correctional, Anderson will lead a diverse and complex prison operation.

At this designated processing center for new arrivals, offenders undergo a series of diagnostic evaluations that will determine future prison assignments. Many offenders are at Piedmont Correctional with short stays because they are being processed into the prison system or receive medical or dental services.

The prison has a 14-bed infirmary and outpatient medical facility with capabilities for x-ray, EKG, lab, IV therapy, and minor surgical operations. A three-chair dental clinic is staffed on a full-time basis.

Correction Enterprises operates a reupholstery plant at Piedmont Correctional. Other offenders at the prison may work as maintenance or kitchen help.

The facility provides vocational classes in auto mechanics, masonry, and commercial cleaning. A literacy computer lab, adult education classes and a course to prepare for a high-school equivalency degree are available. Reentry services are also provided for those approaching release from prison.

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