Governor’s Panel Proposes Prison Expansion

HARTFORD (AP) — A commission appointed by the governor to study prison overcrowding has proposed expansion of current prisons as one solution.

The panel released its reports Tuesday and recommended the expansion of existing prisons and the construction of a 500-bed drug-treatment and pre-release facility.

The governor’s prison and jail overcrowding commission also proposes expanding mental-health programs, increasing the number of parole and probation officers, and giving judges more discretion in sentencing drug-dependent, non-violent offenders.

The conclusion of the governor’s panel conflicts with recommendations from a legislative committee which has also been looking into prison overcrowding.

The legislature’s Program Review and Investigations Committee late last year called for the state to reject more construction and instead rely on community-based programs and shorter prison stays to ease overcrowding.

Department of Correction Commissioner John J. Armstrong leads the prison and jail overcrowding commission. The panel includes Arthur L. Spada, Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety; Chief State’s Attorney John M. Bailey; and Lt Gov Jodi Rell.

Christina Polce, a spokeswoman for the Department of Correction, said the 500-bed facility would hold inmates in need of drug treatment. State officials estimate that about 80 percent of inmates need drug treatment.

Ms Polce said that building the facility proposed by the commission on overcrowding and giving judges more discretion could provide an alternative to placing drug-dependant offenders in prison.

“We’re trying to serve the needs of the legislature and address the concerns they have brought up,” said Ms Polce, adding that the committee would be working to develop legislative support for its plan.