HARTFORD, Conn. — Gov. Ned Lamont announced that he plans to close the Willard Correctional Institution in Enfield by April 1, 2023.
The plan is being made with the help of Lamont's administration and the leadership of the Connecticut Department of Corrections.
The decision to close the facility is due to the sustained decrease in the state’s correction population over the last decade, as well as their commitment to being more cost-effective.
Closing the facility will save taxpayers approximately $6.5 million in annual operating costs and focus correction resources on the current population.
From 2012 to 2022, the state’s correction population decreased by 44%. Over approximately the same period, Connecticut’s violent crime rate fell by 43% and its property crime rate dropped by 29%. In the most recent year of available data, Connecticut’s violent crime rate was less than half the U.S. rate.
“Because spending millions annually to operate facilities for a population that is significantly smaller than just a few years ago is not a good use of taxpayer money, Connecticut is continuing to right-size its correction system to concentrate resources more effectively,” Gov. Lamont said. “I applaud Commissioner Quiros, along with all of the correctional professionals at the Department of Correction, for their tireless efforts to keep the facilities secure and our communities safe.”
The Willard facility opened in 1990 as a level 2 facility for sentenced male offenders. Today, there are approximately 260 individuals at the facility. Over the coming weeks, its remaining population will be transferred to other appropriate facilities in the state.
Approximately 71 correctional professionals currently staff the facility. There won't be any layoffs. Over the coming months, the Department of Correction will work with these staff members and their union representatives to put them at other facilities close by.
“There is a great deal of work that goes into closing a correctional facility,” Department of Correction Commissioner Angel Quiros said. “From the staff to the incarcerated population, there are a lot of moving parts. Thanks to the professionalism of our staff, I have no doubt that the job will get done in a methodical and seamless manner, just as we did with the Radgowski and Northern facilities.”
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