The PROTECT Act, S.B. 459, An Act Concerning the Commisison for Correctional Oversight, the Use of Isolated Confinement, Seclusion, Restraints, Strip Searches, Social Contacts for Incarcerated Persons, Transparency for Conditions of Incarceration ...

S.B. 459, An Act Concerning the Commisison for Correctional Oversight, the Use of Isolated Confinement, Seclusion, Restraints, Strip Searches, Social Contacts for Incarcerated Persons, Transparency for Conditions of Incarceration and Correctional Officer Training

The PROTECT Act is critical to ending unnecessary, harmful, and punitive methods – like abusive restraints – used in the Connecticut Department of Correction. By ending extreme isolation, all the harms listed above, including racial disparities, can be avoided. Pro-social guarantees with respect to correspondence and visitation will give people harmed by isolation, and the threat of it, important outlets and community ties, measures deeply linked to success after incarceration.8 By promoting the wellness of correctional officers, the PROTECT Act works to ensure that the people who have worked in harmful systems have the resources they need to stop perpetuating the cycle of abuse. And by requiring data collection, accountability, and oversight, the PROTECT Act contains strong measures to ensure that segregation and solitary confinement are not just brushed under the rug, reformulated, or rebranded. The ACLU-CT supports Senate Bill 459, and strongly urges this Committee to support Senate Bill 459 as well.