The head of the Ontario Human Rights Commission has put the conditions at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre in her sights, calling them among the worst she has ever seen in Ontario.
In a letter to Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, Renu Mendhane outlines many of the problems she observed at the Exeter Road jail when she took a tour in March. She also spoke with jail management, staff, and inmates.
"Fourteen prisoners have died at EMDC in the past decade," the letter said. "The institution is overcrowded, unsanitary and dangerous. Prisoners’ mental health, addictions and creed-related needs are not being adequately accommodated. Correctional Officers do not have adequate training or support. The conditions are dehumanizing, antithetical to rehabilitation and reintegration, and pose a serious risk to the health and safety of prisoners and correctional officers alike."
Many of the concerns Mendhane raises in the letter are not new. However, her letter suggests the proposed means of addressing them might not be enough. She writes that, while the Ministry of the Solicitor General has been aware of the problems for many years, its commitment to hiring more staff and enhancing security measures may not have the desired effect. Mendhane said it is "unlikely these modest commitments will resolve the serious issues at the institution."
According to Mendhane, both inmates and staff expressed serious concerns about their security and the level of violence at the jail. In interviews with inmates, she said she learned that many face violence from other inmates if they refuse to smuggle contraband into the jail. Some told stories of being seriously injured, both by other inmates and by Correctional Officers. Many of the Correctional Officers she spoke with also reported being victims of violence, and pointed out the impact that violence has on the culture at the jail.
"Correctional Officers noted that while EMDC houses a particularly dangerous population, there is no meaningful access to programming to address their criminogenic factors," she wrote. "In the absence of meaningful tools to proactively engage prisoners, a prison subculture has taken root where more dangerous prisoners are able to control the range and prey on weaker individuals."
Mendhane's letter also raises concerns about the impact conditions at the jail have on the mental health of inmates. It notes the prevalence of drugs in the jail and the number of overdoses that have occurred.
The full letter can be read here.
