Garner Beeper System Gets Mixed Reviews

By Andrew Gorosko

The town is seeking to gauge the value of its prison alert system, which uses electronic beepers to notify beeper holders in the event of a public safety emergency at Garner Correctional Institution, the state’s high security prison on Nunnawauk Road. The prison houses about 730 inmates.

In about 50 letters mailed recently to people who were issued beepers in 1994, the town seeks to learn if those registered users: still have the beepers; use the beepers for notification of Garner emergencies; and believe there is a need to continue operation of the prison beeper system.

The devices are battery-operated electronic alphanumeric pagers, which provide brief text messages to users when the beepers are activated.

Of the two dozen people who have responded to the survey, 17 people said they have the beepers, 11 people said they use the beepers for notification of Garner incidents, and seven said they believe the beeper system should remain in operation.

Of those responding, nine people said they do not use the beepers for notification of Garner incidents and nine people said they believe the beeper system need not continue.

First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal said the responses from the residents would be used to determine whether the town should keep the beeper notification system in effect.

Mr Rosenthal said he plans to raise the matter at the December 4 meeting of the town’s Prison Public Safety Committee. The panel meets quarterly to discuss public safety issues posed by the presence of Garner.

The survey generated a range of responses from beeper users.

One user said he does not understand how to use the device. Another person considers the beeper system a worthwhile program that should continue. A third person said the system seemed to be a good idea after problems occurred at the prison in the early 1990s, but the prison is now a more secure facility.

Another respondent asks that the beeper system not be expanded. Yet another respondent said he received so much erroneous information via the beeper that he stopped using it.

Another respondent said he never received any notification about Garner security issues on the beeper.

One respondent said he had heard that the beeper system was no longer in use, adding that considering its cost, the system was a stupid idea.

One user said he never received any notification of Garner problems, adding that a “telephone chain” to alert people to prison problems makes more sense.

One respondent said he now has an emergency radio scanner and would return the beeper to the town.

Yet another person said having the beeper makes him feel more secure.

One respondent said the beeper consumed batteries too quickly, adding that he doubts whether beeper users would immediately be notified of a prisoner escape.

Garner opened in November 1992. The prison was the scene of a major riot and a double escape in 1993, prompting the town to institute the beeper system in 1994 to alert residents of public safety hazards posed by incidents at the prison.

Garner is a “Level 4” prison. In the state Department of Correction’s classification system, only Level 5 prisons have higher security ratings.