A lack of staffing and the placement of violent inmates at Garner Correctional Institution in Connecticut remain a concern at the prison housing seriously mentally ill inmates, the correction officers' union said last week.

The issues are similar to complaints correction officers raised last year as the state began to consolidate mental health services at the Newtown prison.
Over the past year, the union has worked with the state Department of Correction to resolve those issues, said Wayne Meyers, president of the Connecticut Correction Employees, AFSCME Local 1565. On Wednesday, he called on the governor and legislature to intervene.
 
Union officials say 21 additional custody positions are needed at Garner. They said those officers are needed to supplement the prison's three shifts, especially during the late night and early morning hours.

Correction officials disagreed about the staffing concerns. The department said 220 of 222 correction officer positions are filled at Garner. Since 2003, additional supervisory and correctional staff members have been added, said Stacy Smith, a department spokeswoman. Roving officers are also available to correction officers needing assistance, Smith said.

Warden James Dzurenda said staffing is adequate. Dzurenda said that he is asking two more staff members to arrive at work at 5:30 a.m., and that four others have already been doing that. He said Garner's third shift in the housing units, which works midnight to 8 a.m., is comparable to that of other state prisons.