Accomplishments in 2015
January 21, 2015
Governor Dannel P. Malloy nominated Interim Department of Correction Commissioner Scott Semple to be the permanent head of the agency
January 23, 2015
Thanks to a first of its kind program in the nation, veteran correction officers at the Hartford Correctional Center (HCC) are helping officers who are just beginning their careers to cope with the unique pressures of working in a correctional facility.
A group of veteran correction officers at the HCC trained with UConn staff in a program called the Health Improvement Through Employee Control II (HITEC-II), also referred to as the UConn DoC mentoring program, to become mentors to newly hired officers.
January 30, 2015
Department of Correction K-9 Handler Shawn Dexter, along with his K-9 partner assisted members of the Cheshire Police Department in locating a missing child, in the woods, on a frigid winter’s evening.
After tracking the youth for more than 45 minutes in knee deep snow the K-9 team found the missing juvenile in a secluded, wooded area, wearing only a thin long sleeve shirt, pants and boots – lying on the ground, shivering. The outside temperature was in the teens at the time of the rescue, with the overnight forecast low of nine degrees below zero.
February 4, 2015
Once again, the generous staff of the Connecticut Department of Correction has garnered top honors for the Governor’s Care and Share Holiday Food Drive. At a ceremony held at the State
Capitol, Governor Dannel P. Malloy presented representatives from the the Department of Correction with a plaque for contributing more money than any other state agency.
March 5, 2015
Seven Department of Correction’s employees are among the 90 Connecticut National Guard soldiers who were recently tapped for a year-long deployment overseas. The seven soldiers were honored during an official sendoff ceremony held at the at the William A. O’Neill Armory in Hartford.
March 17, 2015
Commissioner Scott Semple appoints Monica Rinaldi to serve as Deputy Commissioner of Operations and Rehabilitative Services.
March 30, 2015
The Community Release Unit (CRU) began processing community release packages on March
30, 2015. The CRU centralizes of all community release decision making in one location. Historically, each individual warden would make these release decisions. Increased efficiency and more consistency in the decision making process will be among the benefits of the new unit.
April 21, 2015
With Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman among the approximately 200 guests on hand, the Cybulski Community Reintegration Center was officially dedicated on Tuesday, April 21, 2015. The concept behind the center is to centralize and concentrate the department’s re-entry efforts for offenders nearing their end of sentence in one location in order to improve their chances for successful reentry. The new initiative will rely on partnerships with schools, churches, community and health care providers.
June 26, 2015
Department of Correction Captain Shawn Griffin received the Department of Emergency Services and Police Protection (DESPP) Commissioner’s Recognition Award for his efforts regarding the State of Connecticut’s Emergency Management Accreditation Program.
Griffin received the award from DESPP Commissioner Dora Schriro during a ceremony held Friday, June 26, at the State’s Emergency Operation Center in Hartford. Thanks in part to the hard work of Captain Griffin, the State of Connecticut was able to meet all 64 standards by which programs that apply for accreditation are evaluated and were received full accreditation in April of 2014.