Date: Fri 11-Dec-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Acosta-Garner-public-safety

Full Text:

Warden Reports All Is Quiet At Garner

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Members of the Newtown Public Safety Committee met recently to discuss public

safety issues posed by the presence of the state's high-security Garner

Correctional Institution on Nunnawauk Road but realized there isn't much to

talk about right now.

Garner Warden Remi Acosta told committee members "It's very quiet."

"The whole (Department of Correction/DOC) is that way," the warden said as he

knocked his knuckles on a wooden table in the meeting room at Booth Library.

"It's been really quiet. There isn't much for me to communicate. It's been

relatively quiet in Garner," he said.

"Maybe it's the holidays. Maybe people are calming down for the holidays. I

just don't know... We had a holiday dinner with all the trimmings," he said.

Warden Acosta pointed out that the DOC has many strict policies in place

designed to keep Garner inmates in check while incarcerated.

The warden acknowledged though that the prison contains many dangerous

criminals and the prevailing calm there could disappear.

As of December 1, Garner held 732 inmates. Of those, 368 men are designated as

gang members, 204 are mental health patients, and 160 are in Garner's general

prisoner population.

The prison which opened in November 1992 has been designated as the DOC

facility where gang members are incarcerated while the state seeks to

rehabilitate them and have them renounce their gang affiliations.

Garner also contains some of the most advanced psychiatric facilities in the

state prison system.

Building Improvements

First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal, who is chairman of the public safety

committee, thanked Warden Acosta for the DOC's efforts to improve Town Hall

South.

During the past several weeks, two Garner inmates, supervised by a DOC

correction officer, have painted the exterior of Town Hall South, brightening

up a town building which had become weather-beaten.

On December 7, Garner inmates spruced up the trim and lettering on the

building.

"I really appreciate it. It's going to save us a lot of money in labor costs,"

Mr Rosenthal said of the painting project.

Safety committee members selected meeting dates for their quarterly sessions

in 1999. The committee meetings are slated for March 2, June 1, September 7,

and December 7. Meetings alternate between Garner and town facilities.

The committee, which was created by the state legislature, files an annual

report with the state detailing its activities.

The committee's purpose is to keep open the lines of communication between the

town and DOC officials.