Connecticut will be closing one of its prisons.
June 1, Gates Correctional Institution in Niantic will shut down, according to the Department of Correction. The level 2, minimum security prison currently houses about 700 inmates, the department said.
"The closing of the Gates Correctional Institute in Niantic will save the taxpayers of the state some $12.3 million a year," Department of Correction Commissioner Leo Arnone said. "Given our state's fiscal concerns, our agency has worked diligently to find efficiencies and consolidations while at the same time insuring (sic) the safety and security of our citizens."
Gates opened in 1981. The inmates will be moved to various other prisons throughout the state. About 270 correctional employees work at Gates. None will be laid off due to the prison's closure, Arnone said. The department will re-deploy them to other correctional facilities near Niantic.
Connecticut's prison population has dropped to 17,650. That's the lowest it's been in 10 years, according to the department.
