Prison In Somers Closes Earlier Than Anticipated

SOMERS, CT — Northern Correctional Institution, a maximum-security facility which had been slated for closure by July 1, actually officially closed Friday, three weeks earlier than the initial target date.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced plans to close the prison earlier this year, largely because of the significant drop in the state’s incarcerated population, which has decreased by approximately 3,400 individuals over the last 15 months. The state’s total incarcerated population at all facilities currently stands at roughly 9,000 individuals, which is substantially down from the all-time high of 19,894 in Feb. 2008.

Northern, which opened in 1995, has not exceeded 100 inmates in the past year. Its all-time high population was 510 in Jan. 2003.

All inmates most recently incarcerated at Northern have been transferred to other maximum-security facilities throughout the state, with the last of those individuals having been transferred last Monday. Its closure will save the state about $11.75 million in annual operating costs, according to the governor's office.

"New prison admissions in Connecticut have declined significantly over the last decade and the incarcerated population is currently at a 32-year low," Lamont said in a written statement. "This is even as violent, high-risk inmates are serving more of their original sentences than ever before. Spending millions of dollars annually to operate facilities for a population that continues to get smaller and smaller is not a good use of resources, especially as we work to reduce the cost structure of state government. I applaud the ongoing work of all the correctional professionals at the Department of Correction, who keep our facilities safe and secure."

Correction Commissioner Angel Quiros said, "I have to once again give credit to the Department of Correction staff, this time for the professional manner in which they systematically went about closing the Northern facility. There were a lot of moving parts that needed to be coordinated, and they were able to do so – during a pandemic – without negatively affecting the safety of the incarcerated population, their fellow staff members, or the public at large."

No layoffs were associated with its closure, as staff members were redeployed to other facilities within close proximity, according to the governor's office.

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