Gary M. Lanigan, who has more than three decades of experience in the criminal justice and financial management realms, was confirmed as Governor Chris Christie’s choice as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections on March 22, 2010.

As head of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, Mr. Lanigan is responsible for a budget of roughly one billion dollars, approximately 10,000 employees, 13 correctional institutions and 25,000 state-sentenced offenders housed in prisons, county jails and community halfway houses.

Mr. Lanigan served in the New York City Department of

Commissioner Gary M. Lanigan

Corrections for nine years during both the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations. As the Deputy Commissioner of Administration, followed by a position as First Deputy Commissioner, he oversaw all operational functions for the department’s 16 jails,15 court holding facilities, four prison hospital wards and 12,400 uniformed and civilian personnel. During his tenure, the department undertook two of the most challenging technology initiatives in criminal justice: the implementation of a computerized crime victim notification system and the installation of videoconferencing technology that provides for remote interviewing capabilities of inmates on Rikers Island with various parts of the Kings County Supreme Court as well as the Brooklyn office of the New York City Probation Department. Mr. Lanigan also assisted in the development of a management philosophy called TEAMS (Total Efficiency Accountability Management System), which stresses accountability at all levels of management and an analytic method of measuring performance.

Most recently, from 2003 until his current appointment by Governor Chris Christie, the Commissioner served as Director of Budgets and Financial Management at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he was responsible for the direction and financial planning of the authority’s $11 billion operating budget.

In addition, Mr. Lanigan spent seven years with the New York City Police Department, as Assistant Commissioner for Financial Affairs. In that role, he managed budget, contract and financial analysis functions.

Prior to his time with the New York City Police Department, Mr. Lanigan was an analyst with the New York City Office of Management and Budget, with financial oversight of various agencies in New York City, including the Law Department and the Department of General Services.