Date: Fri 14-Jul-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

a7-Garner-Crouse-close-custody

Full Text:

GARNER STAYS QUIET AS CLOSE CUSTORY CONTINUES

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Garner Correctional Institution Warden Frank Crose reports the state's high

security prison on Nunnawauk Road has been running smoothly during recent

months as the state Department of Correction's (DOC) "close custody" program

of incarceration there for crime gang leaders continues.

Warden Crose spoke to members of the Newtown Public Safety Committee July 11

at Garner to update them about what's been happening at the 700-bed

institution since the committee's last session on March 7.

The relative calm at the "Level 4" institution is in contrast to rough times

the sprawling facility experienced in its early months of operation. Garner,

which opened in November 1992, had a prison riot in April 1993 and a double

prisoner escape in August 1993. Following those episodes, the DOC rethought

its incarceration policies and later instituted its close custody program at

Garner to closely hold gang leaders who have proved to be troublemakers in the

state prison system.

"The direction we're headed in is very clear to us," Warden Crose said, noting

that public safety is the DOC's top priority, with other prisoner-related

issues following public safety in their importance.

Garner now houses four cell blocks of close custody prisoners, representing

approximately 390 inmates who get special handling because they pose special

security risks. The prison also houses approximately 200 inmates with mental

health problems, Warden Crose said.

So far, almost 200 inmates have graduated from the close custody program and

only two of them have reverted back to close custody status, according to the

warden.

Close custody incarceration is intended to break inmates' sense of allegiance

to their crime gangs, the warden explained.

Warden Crose said that the results of the close custody program, so far, have

been "excellent." The statistics he provided on close custody are based on the

program's performance during its first year of operation. Three years of

program results probably will be needed to thoroughly evaluate the results of

close custody setup, he said.

In light of improved operations at Garner, it recently was named Prison of The

Year by the DOC, Warden Crose noted.

Three Phases

In the close custody program there are three phases of incarceration. In the

initial phase, which lasts at least 90 days, gang leaders are kept in their

cells 23 hours per day, are allowed only three showers per week, and can speak

on the telephone only twice a week. During the second phase, prisoners are

assembled into 12-man squads and are taught interactive skills.

In the final phase of the program, inmates are taught how to manage their

aggressive behavior. The close custody program takes almost a year to

complete, the warden said.

The close custody cell blocks in Garner are quiet and orderly places unlike

some other prisons where it can become quite noisy, he noted.

Besides the recently opened Northern Correctional Institution in Somers,

Garner is the most structured institution in the state prison system, he said.

Garner has facilities for 7-to-10 day stays of inmates from other prisons with

acute psychiatric problems, he said. After the psychiatric prisoners' acute

phase passes and they are stabilized, they are transported back to the

institution from which they came, Warden Crose said.

No Addition Needed

Previous plans to construct a Garner prison addition for inmate training have

been "put on hold," Warden Crose said. In light of how Garner is now used,

those facilities aren't needed, he said.

The warden said he is waiting for refinements to be made to a new prison

security system which employs fencing and a network of prisoner escape alarms.

The system will have to be improved until it meets DOC specifications, he

said. Warden Crose said he is in no rush to accept a security system which

doesn't yet meet DOC standards.

Mary Taylor, a public safety committee member and a member of the prison

volunteer group known as Justice and Mercy, said Justice and Mercy recently

received an award from the DOC for its work among prisoners.

"I feel completely secure coming in and out (of Garner) all the time," she

said.

More than 200 volunteers overall participate in activities at Garner, Warden

Crose said.

Warden Crose said he will give public safety committee members a tour of

Garner at their next session expected to be held during the first half of

October.