About the Commissioner
Victoria L. Kuhn, Esq. is the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections with more than 26 years of experience as an attorney with the State of New Jersey, including criminal justice, corrections, anti-discrimination, labor law, and public policy. Her career started as an Assistant Prosecutor before transitioning to the Office of the Attorney General – Division of Law, where she addressed law enforcement and corrections matters, including federal and state court litigation, excessive force, Megan's Law, conditions of confinement, and assisted in the development of the protocol regarding the sexually violent predator and CSL/PSL laws.
Before she was appointed Commissioner for the NJDOC, Kuhn served as the Department's Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, led the Department's Equal Employment Division, which is charged with ensuring a discrimination and harassment-free work environment, oversaw the Office of Employee Relations, responsible for union labor relations, hearing employee grievances, reviewing misconduct, and imposing related discipline.
As Commissioner of the State's second-largest Department, Kuhn is responsible for a budget greater than $1 billion, approximately 6,600 employees, and the oversight of approximately 13,000 state-sentenced people housed across nine correctional facilities, county jails, and Residential Community Reintegration Programs. Ensuring the Department realizes its mission advancing public safety and promoting successful reintegration in a dignified, safe, secure, rehabilitative, and gender-informed environment, supported by a professional, trained, and diverse workforce, enhanced by community engagement.
Commissioner Kuhn recognizes the importance of creating lasting and meaningful reform that prioritizes the operation of safe and secure facilities and establishing an environment that addresses the treatment and needs of the population to ensure that individuals who leave the custody of Corrections are poised for successful reintegration into society. Commissioner Kuhn is steadfast in her commitment to building a "corrections community" that supports the incarcerated population and staff. She has launched new reform and reintegration initiatives, placed significant focus on the dignity and safety of our female population, established mission-critical relationships with outside stakeholders and advocates, and is committed to reinvesting in staff, including their personal health, safety, welfare, and training. Embracing a "better together" approach, NJDOC Commissioner Kuhn is committed to advancing policies that elevate the Department as a national model for leaders in prison reform and reintegration.
Official Site of The State of New Jersey
