The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has named Eddie Berry as the new director of the Burke Confinement in Response to Violation Center (CRV) in Morganton.
He had been the assistant director at the facility since 2014.
“Eddie Berry is a proven leader with unique experiences and perspectives that are tailored for this job,” said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons. “He knows the center from top to bottom and he has a special awareness of the needs of the offenders who are placed in his care.”
In his new position, Berry is responsible for all operations at the Burke CRV, which houses 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 of 2011.
The CRV centers use dormitory-style housing, like many minimum-security prisons. The staff works closely with offenders as they progress through treatment and programming, including cognitive behavioral therapy, substance abuse interventions, employment readiness and life skills training.
Berry, 58, began his career with the Department of Public Safety as a correctional officer at the now-closed Western Youth Institution in 1982. He became a probation/parole officer in 1986, a position he held in two stints over a decade. He was a chief probation and parole officer for four of those years. He also worked for a time in the private sector.
In 2006, he was named the program supervisor at Foothills Correctional Institution in Morganton and moved to the Burke CRV center when it opened in 2014.
Berry holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Appalachian State University and currently is a certified Department of Public Safety general instructor with specialties in wellness, firearms and security risk groups.
He is an avid outdoorsman. His hobbies include hunting, fishing, hiking and kayaking.