Gov. Ned Lamont announced that the Willard Correctional Institution in Enfield will close its doors at the beginning of April.
The governor's administration, along with Department of Correction officials, decided to close the facility on April 1, 2023.
The decision comes amid a decrease in the state's prison population over the last decade. The closure will save taxpayers roughly $6.5 million in annual operating costs, according to the governor.
The governor's office said the state will focus correction resources more efficiently on the current population.
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“Because spending millions annually to operate facilities for a population that is significantly smaller than just a few years ago is not a good use of taxpayer money, Connecticut is continuing to right-size its correction system to concentrate resources more effectively,” Lamont said in a statement.
The Willard Correctional Institution opened in 1990 as a level two facility for sentenced male offenders. Today, there are approximately 260 inmates at the facility. In the coming weeks, the inmates will be transferred to other facilities within the state's correctional system, state officials said.
There are currently 71 employees at the facility and none of them will lose their jobs, the governor said.
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The DOC said they plan to work closely with these staff members and their union representatives to place them in other facilities that are located close to Willard. State officials say this will help reduce overtime expenses in other facilities and fill vacant positions.
“There is a great deal of work that goes into closing a correctional facility,” Department of Correction Commissioner Angel Quiros said. “From the staff to the incarcerated population, there are a lot of moving parts. Thanks to the professionalism of our staff, I have no doubt that the job will get done in a methodical and seamless manner, just as we did with the Radgowski and Northern facilities.”
Over the last 10 years, the state's prison population has gone down by 44%.
