Commissioner's update for correctional employees: April 14, 2023

The theme of this year’s National Volunteer Week, April 16 to 22, is “Volunteering Weaves us Together.” Join me in celebrating the thousands of community volunteers who dedicate their time to assist offenders on their journey of rehabilitation and reintegration into the community. This includes hundreds of advisory members on the Citizen Advisory Committee and dozens of Regional Ethnocultural Advisory Committee members who volunteer their time. They provide community perspectives and advance the services and interventions offered to those in our care and custody. 

Community supports and stakeholders are valued partners who help support our mandate and make an important difference inside CSC institutions and in the community. I encourage you to take time during this important week to recognize the many volunteers whose work leads to positive results. This year, offenders were invited to submit art and poetry to thank volunteers for their support. 

• 2023 Volunteer appreciation art and poetry

Citizen Advisory Committee Appreciation Day

April 19 is Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) Appreciation Day! This is a day where we celebrate the valuable support and contribution of the hundreds of CAC members across the country. CACs are an important bridge between CSC and the community.

In their mandate to:

• observe
• liaise, and
• advise

CAC members meet with:

• offenders
• staff
• senior management, and
• the community

 Join me in thanking the committee members for their dedication and hard work. 

Electronic storage device detection: Pilot project

I would like to highlight a collaboration between our NHQ Preventive Security and Intelligence division and the Connecticut State Police. They worked on a pilot project for detector dogs that are trained in the identification of electronic storage devices (ESD). Their hard work led to the recent graduation of two ESD teams from the 234th International K-9 Training Troop of the Connecticut State Police. 

Both Mark McNair from Warkworth Institution and Martin Boisvert from Archambault Institution proudly represented CSC during a six-week training session for the handlers and dogs. Mark was awarded the Douglas Lancelot Outstanding Detection K-9 Handler Award. I extend my congratulations and thanks to them both for their dedication to the Service and to the Detector Dog Program as this pilot project takes off. While Mark and K9 Vivian, and Martin and K9 Poppy have now returned to their sites, both teams have had success seizing electronic devices which underlines the importance of CSC continually adapting to change and identifying new ways of ensuring to maintain safety and security of our Institutions. Kudos! 

Closing

This Sunday, April 16, is Orthodox Easter. Many communities use this opportunity to reflect on the importance of empathy and compassion, which are values that we share everyday in the work we do at CSC.

Thank you for your continued dedication and commitment to making CSC an inclusive and respectful work environment for everyone.