CHAPTER 325
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

      Sec. 18-81bb. Advisory committees established in certain municipalities with correctional facilities. (a) The Department of Correction shall establish an advisory committee in each municipality in which a correctional facility is located and in which a public safety committee has not been established pursuant to section 18-81h. The committee shall be composed of the warden of the correctional facility and five members, appointed jointly by the members of the General Assembly who represent the municipality, one of whom shall represent the business community, one of whom shall represent a social services agency, one of whom shall represent the local law enforcement agency and two of whom shall represent the community at large. No member of the committee shall be a person who is serving a period of probation or parole.

      (b) The committee shall meet not less than quarterly and at such other times as deemed necessary to discuss the demographics of the facility's inmate population, policies and practices of the department, facility programming and reentry initiatives.

      (c) On or before January 1, 2012, the committee shall submit a report, in accordance with section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the Department of Correction that outlines issues of concern and makes recommendations to mitigate such concerns.

      (P.A. 11-148, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 11-148 effective July 1, 2011.

      Sec. 18-81cc. (Note: This section is effective October 1, 2012.) Prevention, detection and monitoring of, and response to, sexual abuse in correctional facilities. (a) Any agency of the state or any political subdivision of the state that incarcerates or detains adult offenders, including persons detained for immigration violations, shall, within available appropriations, adopt and comply with the applicable standards recommended by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission for the prevention, detection and monitoring of, and response to, sexual abuse in adult prisons and jails, community correction facilities and lockups.

      (b) Such standards include, but are not limited to:

      (1) Zero tolerance of sexual abuse;

      (2) Contracting with other entities for the confinement of inmates or detainees;

      (3) Inmate or detainee supervision;

      (4) Heightened protection for vulnerable detainees;

      (5) Limits to cross-gender viewing and searches;

      (6) Accommodating inmates or detainees with special needs;

      (7) Hiring and promotion decisions;

      (8) Assessment and use of monitoring technology;

      (9) Evidence protocol and forensic medical examinations;

      (10) Agreements with outside public entities and community service providers;

      (11) Agreements with outside law enforcement agencies;

      (12) Agreements with the prosecuting authority;

      (13) Employee training;

      (14) Volunteer and contractor training;

      (15) Inmate education;

      (16) Detainee, attorney, contractor and inmate worker notification of agency's zero-tolerance policy;

      (17) Specialized training: Investigations;

      (18) Specialized training: Medical and mental health care;

      (19) Screening for risk of victimization and abusiveness;

      (20) Use of screening information;

      (21) Inmate or detainee reporting;

      (22) Exhaustion of administrative remedies;

      (23) Inmate access to outside confidential support services or legal representation;

      (24) Third-party reporting;

      (25) Staff and facility or agency head reporting duties;

      (26) Reporting to other confinement facilities;

      (27) Staff first responder duties;

      (28) Coordinated response;

      (29) Agency protection against retaliation;

      (30) Duty to investigate;

      (31) Criminal and administrative agency investigations;

      (32) Evidence standard for administrative investigations;

      (33) Disciplinary sanctions for staff;

      (34) Disciplinary sanctions for inmates;

      (35) Referrals for prosecution for detainee-on-detainee sexual abuse;

      (36) Medical and mental health screenings: History of sexual abuse;

      (37) Access to emergency medical and mental health services;

      (38) Ongoing medical and mental health care for sexual abuse victims and abusers;

      (39) Sexual abuse incident reviews;

      (40) Data collection;

      (41) Data review for corrective action;

      (42) Data storage, publication, and destruction; and

      (43) Audits of standards.

      (P.A. 11-159, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 11-159 effective October 1, 2012.

      Sec. 18-98e. Earned risk reduction credit. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any person sentenced to a term of imprisonment for a crime committed on or after October 1, 1994, and committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Correction on or after said date, except a person sentenced for a violation of section 53a-54a, 53a-54b, 53a-54c, 53a-54d, 53a-70a or 53a-100aa, may be eligible to earn risk reduction credit toward a reduction of such person's sentence, in an amount not to exceed five days per month, at the discretion of the Commissioner of Correction for conduct as provided in subsection (b) of this section occurring on or after April 1, 2006.

      (b) An inmate may earn risk reduction credit for adherence to the inmate's offender accountability plan, for participation in eligible programs and activities, and for good conduct and obedience to institutional rules as designated by the commissioner, provided (1) good conduct and obedience to institutional rules alone shall not entitle an inmate to such credit, and (2) the commissioner or the commissioner's designee may, in his or her discretion, cause the loss of all or any portion of such earned risk reduction credit for any act of misconduct or insubordination or refusal to conform to recommended programs or activities or institutional rules occurring at any time during the service of the sentence or for other good cause. If an inmate has not earned sufficient risk reduction credit at the time the commissioner or the commissioner's designee orders the loss of all or a portion of earned credit, such loss shall be deducted from any credit earned by such inmate in the future.

      (c) The award of risk reduction credit earned for conduct occurring prior to July 1, 2011, shall be phased in consistent with public safety, risk reduction, administrative purposes and sound correctional practice, at the discretion of the commissioner, but shall be completed not later than July 1, 2012.

      (d) Any credit earned under this section may only be earned during the period of time that the inmate is sentenced to a term of imprisonment and committed to the custody of the commissioner and may not be transferred or applied to a subsequent term of imprisonment. In no event shall any credit earned under this section be applied by the commissioner so as to reduce a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment such inmate is required to serve by statute.

      (e) The commissioner shall adopt policies and procedures to determine the amount of credit an inmate may earn toward a reduction in his or her sentence and to phase in the awarding of retroactive credit authorized by subsection (c) of this section.

      (P.A. 11-51, S. 22.)

      History: P.A. 11-51 effective July 1, 2011.

      Sec. 18-100c. Release of prisoners with definite sentences of two years or less to halfway house, group home, mental health facility or other approved community correction program. A person convicted of a crime who is incarcerated on or after July 1, 1993, who received a definite sentence of two years or less, and who has been confined under such sentence for not less than one-half of the sentence imposed by the court, less such time as may have been earned under the provisions of section 18-7, 18-7a, 18-98a, 18-98b or 18-98d or less any risk reduction credit earned under the provisions of section 18-98e, may be released pursuant to subsection (e) of section 18-100 or to any other community correction program approved by the Commissioner of Correction.

      (P.A. 90-261, S. 4; P.A. 93-219, S. 1, 14; P.A. 11-51, S. 23.)

      History: P.A. 93-219 expanded release eligibility to include prisoners who received a definite sentence of two years or less, rather than one year or less, and added references to Secs. 18-7a, 18-98a, 18-98b and 18-98d, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 11-51 provided for deduction from sentence of any risk reduction credit earned under Sec. 18-98e, effective July 1, 2011.

      Sec. 18-100d. Supervision of persons convicted of a crime committed on or after October 1, 1994, required until expiration of sentence. Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes, any person convicted of a crime committed on or after October 1, 1994, shall be subject to supervision by personnel of the Department of Correction until the expiration of the maximum term or terms for which such person was sentenced less any risk reduction credit earned under the provisions of section 18-98e.

      (P.A. 93-219, S. 10, 14; P.A. 04-257, S. 116; P.A. 11-51, S. 24.)

      History: P.A. 93-219 effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 04-257 deleted provision re supervision by personnel of "the Board of Parole" and made a technical change for purposes of gender neutrality, effective June 14, 2004; P.A. 11-51 provided for deduction from sentence of any risk reduction credit earned under Sec. 18-98e, effective July 1, 2011.

      Sec. 18-100h. Release of persons convicted of certain motor vehicle and drug offenses to their residences. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, whenever a person is sentenced to a term of imprisonment pursuant to subsection (g) of section 14-227a or section 14-215 and committed by the court to the custody of the Commissioner of Correction, the commissioner may, after admission and a risk and needs assessment of such person, release such person to such person's residence subject to the condition that such person not leave such residence unless otherwise authorized. Based upon the assessment of such person, the commissioner may require such person to be subject to electronic monitoring, which may include the use of a global positioning system and continuous monitoring for alcohol consumption, and to any other conditions the commissioner deems appropriate. Any person released pursuant to this subsection shall remain in the custody of the commissioner and shall be supervised by employees of the department during the period of such release. Upon the violation by such person of any condition of such release, the commissioner may revoke such release and return such person to confinement in a correctional facility. The commissioner shall establish an advisory committee for the purpose of developing a protocol for the training of correctional staff assigned to the assessment and supervision of offenders eligible for release pursuant to this subsection, evaluation of outcomes of participation in such release, the establishment of victim impact panels and the provision of treatment to such participants. For purposes of this subsection, "continuous monitoring for alcohol consumption" means automatically testing breath, blood or transdermal alcohol concentration levels and tamper attempts at least once every hour regardless of the location of the person being monitored.

      (b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, whenever a person is sentenced to a term of imprisonment for a violation of section 21a-267 or subsection (c) of section 21a-279 and committed by the court to the custody of the Commissioner of Correction, the commissioner may, after admission and a risk and needs assessment, release such person to such person's residence subject to the condition that such person not leave such residence unless otherwise authorized. Based upon the assessment of such person, the commissioner may require such person to be subject to electronic monitoring, which may include the use of a global positioning system and continuous monitoring for alcohol consumption, to drug testing on a random basis, and to any other conditions that the commissioner may impose. Any person released pursuant to this subsection shall remain in the custody of the commissioner and shall be supervised by employees of the department during the period of such release. Upon the violation by such person of any condition of such release, the commissioner may revoke such release and return such person to confinement in a correctional facility. For purposes of this subsection, "continuous monitoring for alcohol consumption" means automatically testing breath, blood or transdermal alcohol concentration levels and tamper attempts at least once every hour regardless of the location of the person being monitored.

      (P.A. 11-51, S. 26, 27.)

      History: P.A. 11-51 effective July 1, 2011.

PART Ia
EMPLOYEES

      Sec. 18-101f. Prohibition against disclosure of certain employee files to inmates under the Freedom of Information Act. A personnel or medical file or similar file concerning a current or former employee of the Division of Public Defender Services, Department of Correction or the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, including, but not limited to, a record of a security investigation of such employee by the department or division or an investigation by the department or division of a discrimination complaint by or against such employee, shall not be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200, to any individual committed to the custody or supervision of the Commissioner of Correction or confined in a facility of the Whiting Forensic Division of the Connecticut Valley Hospital. For the purposes of this section, an "employee of the Department of Correction" includes a member or employee of the Board of Pardons and Paroles within the Department of Correction.

      (P.A. 10-58, S. 1; P.A. 11-220, S. 2.)

      History: P.A. 10-58 effective May 26, 2010; P.A. 11-220 added references to Division of Public Defender Services.