A portion of a correctional center in Montville has been shut down as a result of state’s declining prison population.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Wednesday the Department of Correction has closed the Radgowski Annex Building at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Montville. The closure of the building, which is capable of holding up to 254 inmates, will save the state approximately $3 million in annual operating costs, Malloy said.
“As crime in Connecticut has dropped to its lowest level in two generations and the prison population has subsequently declined to its lowest level in 23 years, we’ve been able to create efficiencies by closing outdated prisons and portions of facilities, and reallocating these resources toward efforts that will further enhance public safety initiatives and keep our neighborhoods even safer,” Malloy said.
The annex building confined both pretrial and sentenced offenders and serves Superior Courts in Danielson, New London, Norwich, and Windham.
“The closing of infrastructure is a good indication that fewer people are returning to prison,” Correction Commissioner Scott Semple said.
According to the FBI, reported crime in Connecticut is now at its lowest level since 1967. Today, the state’s total inmate population is approximately 14,560. The inmate population peaked in 2008 at 19,894.
Besides Wednesday’s closing, the Correction Department has closed four other facilities over the past several years based on the declining prison population.
