NIANTIC — Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy says a declining prison population has prompted the Department of Correction to close the Niantic Annex at the York Correctional Institution.
The Democrat announced Wednesday the facility for male inmates will close effective Jan. 9.
“We are doing critical work with Second Chance Society, innovating like never before and being smart – not just tough – in our approach. Crime is down to a nearly 50-year low. Our prison population is dropping. Recidivism has been lowered. And all of that means that we can be strategic with our resources,” Malloy said.
He says the DOC has enough empty beds in the state system to relocate the facility’s 44 prisoners.
Closing the annex will save taxpayers approximately $7.6 million per year.
It was originally opened in 2011 to house inmates from the J.B. Gates Correctional Institution, which closed that year. At its peak, the annex temporarily housed as many as 585 inmates.
Connecticut’s overall prison population has been declining. There were 15,580 inmates as of Tuesday. That’s down more than 600 from the same time last year.
