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According to Malloy, the closure will save taxpayers approximately $7.6 million per year. With crime at a 48-year low – dropping significantly each year – and recidivism down dramatically, the state has enough empty beds to relocate the prisoners currently in the Niantic Annex to other facilities in the state.
“We are doing critical work with Second Chance Society, innovating like never before and being smart – not just tough – in our approach," Malloy said. "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. We are making real progress in Connecticut to change lives and break that cycle of poverty, crime and prison that has impacted far too many people. Violent criminals are serving longer sentences, while we’re tailoring our approach with non-violent offenders. This closing is a reflection of a paradigmatic change in approach from policies that simply didn’t work in the past. It’s going to save taxpayer dollars – and it’s the right thing to do.”
Opened in 2011, the Niantic Annex began housing inmates from the J.B. Gates Correctional Institution, which was closed that same year. At its peak, it temporarily housed as many as 585 inmates. It currently has 44.
As of Jan. 5, the state's total inmate population was 15,580. The population is down more than 600 from just the same time last year.
The Department of Correction previously closed the Webster Correctional Institution in Cheshire in January 2010, the Gates Correctional Institution in Niantic in June 2011, the Bergin Correctional Institution in Storrs in August 2011, and most recently the Fairmount Building at Bridgeport Correctional Center in July 2015.
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