In an effort to deal with overcrowded jails, the provincial government will be reopening two intermittent detention centres, including one in London.
Solicitor General Michael Kerzner made the announcement on Monday. He stated that the Regional Intermittent Centre at Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC) in London and the Toronto Intermittent Centre at the Toronto South Detention Centre will be reopened in the short-term. This would add up to 430 new correctional beds for minimum-risk and medium-risk inmates by 2026.
The $9.3 million Regional Intermittent Centre at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre was first opened in 2016. The 22,000 sq ft facility was equipped with state-of-the-art security features like a full-body scanner and segregated intermittent inmates from the general inmate population at the EMDC. It was shuttered by the Ford government in 2021.
Other measures being taken to address the overcrowding and make the corrections facilities safer include the addition of 18 new beds at the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee and doubling capacity at the new Brockville Correctional Complex.
Kerzner added that up to 200 new correctional staff such as nurses, correctional officers, and support staff will be hired to help deal with the increased jail capacity.
“We’re expanding and building facilities that will help frontline staff to do their jobs safely and effectively while increasing capacity to keep violent and repeat offenders off our streets," said Kerzner.