Harry Droz photo
Rollin Cook (center) with Jeff Grant and Babz Rawls-Ivy.
When Rollin Cook started his career as a correctional officer in Utah 30 years ago, the criminal justice system prioritized handling inmates with force.
As the new head of Connecticut’s prison system, Cook plans to build off of his predecessor’s reform legacy by championing communication and rehabilitation rather than physical punishment for those behind bars, as well as anti-discrimination for the recently released.
Cook discussed those criminal justice reform goals and the three-decade trajectory of the country’s prison system as a whole on the most recent episode of WNHH’s “Criminal Justice Insider with Babz Rawls-Ivy and Jeff Grant.”
The 51-year-old former head of the Utah prison system is less than two months into his new job as the commissioner-designate of Connecticut’s Department of Correction (DOC), replacing outgoing commissioner and nationally-celebrated reformer Scott Semple.
“There’s a reason why my nose is crooked,” Cook said during the interview. The commissioner-designate, a soft-spoken but burly veteran of the Utah correctional system who worked his way up from correctional officer to commissioner, said that “everything was about force” when he first started working in Utah prisons in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Correctional officers like him were required to go into cells and “take people down.”
“Now,” he continued, “when we’re looking to hire people, we’re looking for people that can problem solve, that can communicate, that can lead. It’s not about forcing someone, but about leading them, coaching them.”
During his five years as the head of Utah’s system, Cook earned praise from his native state’s governor, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Utah, and the Utah Prisoner Advocate Network for both advocating for staff and for improving inmate mental health and restrictive housing policies.
Recently tapped by Gov. Ned Lamont to bring the same humane, reform-minded prison policies to the Nutmeg State, Cook said he is interested in continuing the work done by Semple, who worked with former Gov. Dannel Malloy to shutter prisons, reduce the state’s incarcerated population, and establish the TRUE program in the Cheshire maximum-security prison where young inmates are mentored by older, fellow inmates serving life sentences for crimes that they committed while they were young.
“The reason I came to Connecticut was because of the things that you’re doing,” Cook said. After listening to Semple present at prison commissioner conferences around the country, Cook remembered thinking to himself, “I wanted to be part of that.”
In his new job, Cook said he will prioritize reforming “restrictive housing” policies that keep Connecticut inmates contained in solitary confinement. He’ll also prioritize “staff wellness” so that employees at all levels of the DOC feel empowered to speak up about what’s working and what’s not from their perspectives in the state’s prison system.
And for those who have been released from prison, Cook said, he will be a champion of anti-discrimination legislation like House Bill 6921, introduced by New Haven State Rep. Robyn Porter, which looks to remove barriers to employment, education, and, in particular, housing for those with criminal records trying to reintegrate into society after being released.
“It isn’t just a corrections problem,” he said. “It’s a social justice problem.” A good job and medical treatment and reform-minded legislation can only do so much for someone recently released from prison, he said.
“If they’ don’t have a place to live when they get out,” he said, “they’re gonna fail.”
“Criminal Justice Insider” is sponsored by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
Read previous articles:
- 1,000 Books Laid Path For Reentry
- 16 Years For A Crime He Didn’t Commit
- Insider Trader Cases Sexier To Prosecute
- Next Goal: Ban The Box For Housing, Too
- Criminal Justice Crusader Reflects On Mass Incarceration, #MeToo
- Society Needs A “Second Chance,” Too
- Imagining A Less Incarcerated World
- Criminal Justice Reformer Refuses To Give Up
- Criminal Record Controversy Propels Legislative Candidate
- ‘If’ Injects Humanity Into Incarceration
- Carbone Fans The Youth Justice Flame
- Forman: We’re Expelling Our Own, Too
- Lawlor Sees Progress On Reform
- From Mortgage Fraud To Criminal Justice Reform
- Teen Encounter With Cops Spurred Reform Advocate
- From Second Chance To No Chance Connecticut?
- Project Longevity Coordinator Works Off A Debt
- Ex-CEO Serves Justice Reform “Life Sentence”
- Ganim Describes Path Back From Prison
- Transition Time For Teens In Trouble
- Parole Holds A Key To Reentry Puzzle
- Organizer Takes “Sawdust-On-Floor” Tack
- Female Ex-Offenders Band Together
- German-Inspired Reform Calms Prison
- Son’s Arrest Helped Shape Porter’s Politics
Reform sounds so promising, but it is always about small changes around the edges, rather than a fresh, holistic approach to whether prison is even needed for some people. What are the alternatives to incarceration? What is the goal of incarceration? What should a prison look like? Is there a maximum length of time that anyone can be held?
How someone who was part of beating up prisoners can now be a proponent of change is challenging my skills around cognitive dissonance.<br /> The Legislature can't even bring itself to decriminalize marijuana, despite the substantial science available for at least 40+ years.<br /> Let Lamont commission a Panel to envision a 21st century approach to treating offenders and then, maybe, something might actually happen.