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| John Hill |
The response to the query showed that as of Sept. 30, 2023, an average of 8,889 people were locked away in Ontario jails when the capacity was 7,848 prisoners. That amounts to Ontario jails operating at 113 per cent overcapacity.
Overcrowding is dangerous for inmates and staff alike. Especially at times when there are staffing shortages, an inability to control frightened, overstressed, and angry inmates can and does increase aggressive behaviour and violence.
Penitentiaries and correctional centres are dangerous places at the best of times. The CP report cites Workplace Safety and Insurance Board figures showing that correctional officers rank third in the work-related stress and injury claims filed. Only police officers and paramedics had a more significant number of claims. Murder and violence in correctional centres go beyond the trauma experienced by inmates.
Stress has been given as the reason for many jail guard suicides.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney-General cautioned justices of the peace (JP) to be careful in restricting bail since overcrowding could be a recipe for disaster and heighten the threat to local communities if an outbreak in a detention centre infected staff who, in turn, returned to their home communities to spread the virus. Various police forces in Ontario have been highly critical of the courts during the period. An arrest would be made of a suspect, and the police would see the same person on the street the following day, having been granted bail. Frustrations developed such that, at one point, the chair of the Cobourg Police Services Board called for a local JP to be fired.
It did not take long for the police frustration to spill over to the political realm. We now hear politicians calling for “jail, not bail.” Crown attorneys have taken up the cause and are opposing the granting of bail, especially when guns and violence are involved, according to Criminal Lawyers Association president Boris Bytensky.
The provincial government has not just recently encountered the overcrowding issue. Ten years ago, Warren (Smokey) Thomas, then president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, called on the McGuinty government to establish a task force to recommend improvements to the system. Jails, especially when overcrowded, become hotbeds for gang activity. Of course, violence must be expected. Some American prisons have dealt with overcrowding simply by releasing convicted offenders early. That merely transfers the problem onto overworked parole and probation officers.
It would seem the best solution is to forget the politics and to press for real change. One would expect a meaningful place to begin attacking the problem would be to unclog the courts. This might mean expanding the appointment of the provincial judiciary and increasing the times in which courts sit. Legal Aid and Duty Counsel should be made more available to cut the number of self-represented litigants that take up much court time.
The CP reported that in questioning Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, who oversees Ontario’s jails, the minister could not offer concrete suggestions on how to fix the problem. The only solution he proposed was hiring an additional thousand correctional officers.
An American study has found that perhaps one per cent of people arrested and ultimately convicted are factually innocent. Of course, everyone awaiting trial in provincial custody is technically innocent.
The sad truth is that many people who have refused bail need not be kept locked away. Jail should be the option for people who threaten public safety, not the default position, even if it is a politically popular choice.
John L. Hill practised and taught prison law until his retirement. He holds a J.D. from Queen’s and LL.M. in constitutional law from Osgoode Hall. He is also the author of Pine Box Parole: Terry Fitzsimmons and the Quest to End Solitary Confinement (Durvile & UpRoute Books). Contact him at johnlornehill@hotmail.com.
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