October 15, 2008 |
2008-R-0576 | |
FIXED BEDS IN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION FACILITIES | ||
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By: Christopher Reinhart, Senior Attorney | ||
You asked for a comparison of the number of fixed beds in each Department of Correction (DOC) facility based on information DOC provided to (1) OLR on March 5, 2008 and (2) the Program Review and Investigations Committee (PRI) for their report, Factors Impacting Prison Overcrowding, 2000.
SUMMARY
DOC provided us with information on the fixed beds in each facility on March 5, 2008. DOC also provided information on fixed beds to PRI for their report, Factors Impacting Prison Overcrowding, 2000.
According to the PRI reports:
The Department of Correction does not have an official total bed capacity for the prison system. It reports prison capacity as a fluid number based on daily inmate population needs, which are dictated by security issues, inmate admissions and discharges, court decrees, legal mandates, staffing, suitability and design of the facilities, and the number of beds. The number of beds in use can change due to building maintenance, opening or closing of a unit or facility, a renovation or expansion project, or other emergency situation (e. g. , riots, fires, etc. ). As a result, the department can increase or decrease the total number of available beds (PRI, PA 04-234 Compliance Monitoring Project Status Report, January 2006).
For purposes of PRI's 2000 report, Factors Impacting Prison Overcrowding, and the PA 04-234 Monitoring Project, PRI defined system capacity as “the number of permanent beds in a prison or jail. ”
According to the report, Factors Impacting Prison Overcrowding, there were 17,600 fixed beds in DOC facilities in 2000. PRI's PA 04-234 Monitoring Report stated that DOC reported 18,806 permanent prison and jail beds in July 2004 and 18,786 permanent beds on January 1 and July 1 of 2005. In the information provided to OLR on March 5, 2008, the total number of fixed beds was 20,085.
COMPARISON OF FIXED BEDS IN 2000 AND ON MARCH 5, 2008
The table below displays the fixed beds in each facility on March 5, 2008 and in 2000 and the change in the number of beds.
Facility |
Fixed Beds 3/5/08 |
Fixed Beds 2000 |
Change in the Number of Beds |
Bergin Correctional Institution |
962 |
500 |
462 |
Bridgeport Correctional Center |
1,040 |
840 |
200 |
Brooklyn Correctional Institution |
456 |
494 |
-38 |
Cheshire Correctional Institution |
1,456 |
1,384 |
72 |
Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center* |
1,489 |
1,489 |
0 |
Enfield Correctional Institution |
724 |
724 |
0 |
Garner Correctional Institution |
748 |
750 |
-2 |
Gates Correctional Institution |
1,139 |
1,014 |
125 |
Hartford Correctional Center |
984 |
984 |
0 |
MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution** |
2,131 |
1,551 |
580 |
Manson Youth Institution |
719 |
670 |
49 |
New Haven Correctional Center |
767 |
724 |
43 |
Northern Correctional Institution |
586 |
584 |
2 |
Osborn Correctional Institution |
2,094 |
1,816 |
278 |
Robinson Correctional Institution |
1,549 |
1,151 |
398 |
Webster Correctional Institution |
584 |
576 |
8 |
Willard/Cybulski Correctional Institution |
1,104 |
1,044 |
60 |
York Correctional Institution |
1,553 |
1,305 |
248 |
Total |
20,085 |
17,600 |
2,485 |
*The PRI report lists the Corrigan and Radgowski facilities separately.
**The PRI report lists the MacDougall and Walker facilities separately.