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Prison and Jail Overcrowding Commission, 2003 Annual Report

NCJ Number
201596
Date Published
2003
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This 2003 Annual Report of Connecticut's Prison and Jail Overcrowding Commission presents 12 recommendations that support a comprehensive and integrated strategy that balances both incarceration and treatment interventions while giving public safety the highest priority.
Abstract
The recommendations specifically support the use of alternatives to incarceration through incremental sanctions, the preparation of offenders for return to the community from prison, and the development of available community treatment and supervision options. One recommendation recommends amending existing legislation to authorize the Department of Correction to contract for the housing of Connecticut inmates out of State to allow for a minimum of 1,000 inmates to be housed at the Greensville Correctional Center in Virginia. Another recommendation advocates the expansion of secure facilities to accommodate the increased population of violent offenders who are serving longer sentences, as well as to replace existing aging, temporary dormitory housing. A third recommendation supports operational funding for a 110-bed Community Justice Center for female offenders. The Commission also recommends that the legislature review mandatory minimum sentences for convicted nonviolent drug offenders, so as to provide for appropriate community-based interventions. Other recommendations pertain to the enhancement of systems and resources for offenders with significant mental health problems; the inclusion on the Commission of representatives from mental health, policy and management, and parole agencies; the proper identification and assessment of offender needs 90 days prior to release; the maintenance of manageable parole caseloads; partnership with Federal agencies for the housing of offenders in Connecticut within existing programs; the implementation of conditional discharge of offenders to re-entry supervision at 95 percent of sentence served, except when public safety risk factors are involved; and the authorization of the Commissioner of Correction to release eligible inmates to pretrial supervision, subject to judicial discretion.