Sen. Kissel Expresses Concerns About CT Correction Officers’ Safety

For Immediate Release:

Sen. Kissel Expresses Concerns About
CT Correction Officers’ Safety

Cites Workers’ Comp Uptick,
Inmate Violence at MacDougall-Walker C.I.

Sen. John A. Kissel today wrote to Connecticut Department of Correction Commissioner Angel Quiros to express concerns over an uptick in workers’ compensation cases at the department as well as increased inmate violence at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.

“The workers’ comp issue and the increase in inmate violence both deserve a thorough review, report and response,” Sen. Kissel wrote in a Sep. 27 letter to Commissioner Quiros. “At the Sep. 16 Juvenile Justice Police and Oversight Committee meeting which I attended, you noted that the number of corrections officers who are currently out on workers’ compensation is the highest in recent memory. Is there an explanation for this large number of workers’ comp cases? Is this trend straining the system, and if so, how?”

“Inmate violence also merits our prompt attention,” Sen. Kissel added.  “In the Journal Inquirer on Sep. 24, AFSCME Local 391 President Collin Provost noted how prison union members are concerned about an increase in assaults, confrontations and other incidents at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution. According to Mr. Provost, these incidents are occurring at a higher frequency and ‘toxic conditions’ are breeding across our prison system.”

Sen. Kissel said that Connecticut’s correctional professionals “do a tremendous job each and every day” and that his priority is their safety.

Sen. Kissel serves as Ranking Senator on the legislature’s Judiciary Committee and serves on the Juvenile Justice Police and Oversight Committee. He represents East Granby, Enfield, Somers, Suffield, Windsor Locks and parts of Granby and Windsor. On the web: www.SenatorKissel.com