CONNECTICUT’S CORRECTION SYSTEM IS IN CRISIS: ESCALATING VIOLENCE, LACK OF STAFF—CONNECTICUT CORRECTION OFFICERS SOUND THE ALARM

New Britain, CT – Over the past several months, our Union has repeatedly notified the public of major assaults on Correctional Officers and staff that have resulted in grave physical injuries to members that we represent. Assaults on Correctional staff happen every day in Connecticut's Correctional facilities, a harsh reality that is made worse by the short-staffing crisis. 

Some of these assaults are not accurately recorded by the Department of Correction, such as when inmates spit on Officers, or throw urine and fecal matter on the Officers. Last year, the Department of Correction recorded a total of 262 assaults on staff; it is not possible to have the media cover all of these violent attacks, and unfortunately it seems only the most serious assaults are reported. This is unfortunate, because it deprives the public of a full understanding of the risks that our brave Officers take each day, to keep our State safe. 

The public needs to know and understand that assaults on Correctional staff have more than doubled since 2020, with an increase of 146%—and the attacks themselves have become more violent and brutal. Moreover, inmate-on-inmate assaults—which put our Officers in danger because Correctional Staff are required to intervene to keep the inmates and Officers safe—have increased by approximately 39% since 2020. Due to the dramatic increase in violence within our state’s correction facilities, the Department of Corrections has experienced a 30% increase in workers’ compensation claims since 2018, and that does not account for the large number of on-the-job injuries to staff that are not recorded or which don’t require workers’ compensation time. The growing toll on mental health is just as alarming: usage of the Union-created Employee Assistance Unit for critical peer-based mental health support has nearly tripled over the past five years. 

The CT Department of Correction is short-staffed by approximately 570 Officers. As a result, most facilities begin each day dangerously understaffed, lacking the personnel required to operate safely. This staffing crisis leads directly to increased assaults and severely limits the ability of Staff to respond effectively when these violent attacks occur. 

To make matters worse, the pay for our Officers have not kept pace with the rising dangers of the job, nor has it kept pace with inflation of the last 10 years. This means that, after stepping up to serve in one of the most dangerous work environments in the Nation, our Officers go home and struggle to pay their mortgages or feed their families. 

It is getting harder and harder for Correction Officers to come home safe at the end of the night and something needs to change.