State to close Montville prison

Gov. Ned Lamont announced Wednesday the state plans to close Radgowski Correctional Institution, a medium-security facility in Montville for men, by the end of this year — the second announced prison closure at a time when Connecticut’s inmate population has reached a 32-year low.

The announcement came with little fanfare in a late afternoon news release from the governor’s office, which pointed to “the significant drop” in the state’s incarcerated population, which decreased by more than 3,200 inmates in the last 17 months alone. The closure is estimated to save the state $7.3 million in annual operating costs

“Spending millions of dollars in annual operating costs on buildings that have historically low numbers of incarcerated individuals inside is just not a good use of resources,” Lamont said in a statement. “By relocating them to other facilities that have available capacity, we can deliver on our administration’s goal of reducing the cost structure of state government.”

The decision was met with criticism from the president of the state union representing corrections workers, who said while it may save money in short-term it will harm safety and security over the long term.

“The men and women who work in Connecticut's prisons have a very dangerous and difficult job to begin with. Closing facilities and moving offenders around while failing to hire additional staff is a recipe for failure,” Michael Vargo, president of AFSCME Local 1565, said in a statement.

The Republican leader in the House, who’s been critical of the governor for not being tough enough on crime, questioned the governor’s long-term criminal justice vision “particularly as we’re talking about issues surrounding our juvenile justice system and as we invest millions in federal pandemic aid into other correctional facilities.”

“Simply moving employees from one prison facility to another isn’t a point to celebrate, and it should instead trigger a broader conversation about the governor negotiating with unions to more accurately reflect on-the-ground staffing needs at our facilities,” state Rep. Vincent Candelora, of Branford, said in a statement.

The closure of Radgowski was not unexpected. The state budget includes the shuttering of three correctional facilities, which is estimated to yield $20 million in savings in fiscal year 2022 and nearly $46 million in fiscal year 2023.

The state shut down its maximum-security prison, Northern Correctional Institution in Somers, which once housed death row inmates, earlier this summer — three weeks ahead of the July 1 deadline set by the Lamont administration. Wednesday’s news release from the governor’s office said the closure of a third facility is pending.