Another prison facility closes as CT inmate population shrinks

The administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Wednesday the closure of the 254-bed Radgowski annex at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Montville, saving about $3 million in annual operating costs.

“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population has subsequently declined to its lowest level in 23 years, we’ve been able to create efficiencies by closing outdated prisons and portions of facilities, and reallocating these resources toward efforts that will further enhance public safety initiatives and keep our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 closure and budget savings are the dividend the state is collecting on the falling crime rate and prison population. The inmate population is now 14,560, down from a peak of 19,894 in 2008.

Arrests and prison admissions continue to fall, Malloy said.

Key statistics cited Wednesday:

• Between 2009 and 2017, the number of arrests that occurred during the first quarter of the year – an early indication of the crime rate – has dropped by 32 percent.
• Between 2009 and 2017, the number of pretrial admissions to the Department of Correction (DOC) dropped by 25 percent during the first quarter of the year.
• Between 2009 and 2017, the number of newly sentenced admissions to the DOC during the first quarter of the year dropped by 44 percent.
• New arrests during the first quarter of 2017 are down by 6 percent when compared to the same period in 2016.

In 2009, there were 28,484 arrests during the first quarter of the year, compared to 20,780 in 2016 and 19,451 this year.