First experience at the Central East Correction Center!
My initial destination was to a provincial institution “Central East Correctional Centre” located in Lindsay, Ontario. On arrival, I went through the admittance procedure, which included giving my medical history, along with all the prescription medications that I was currently taking. The reason for getting the information about my medications so quickly during the admittance procedure was so that they could get this information sent immediately to their pharmacy so that I would receive my medications at my cell the next time the nurses made their rounds. I made the mistake of bringing all my medications from home. Do not bring yours. You will never get to use them. Mine were put away in my “Red Bag”. Which is where all my personal belongings are put until I would arrive at my “Mother” institution. My medications must have been thrown out prior to my receiving my contents of my bag. I never received them and they never were shipped back to my home as I had requested. I then had my photo taken, along with a full set of fingerprints that went into my criminal record file and registry. I received a “Wristband”, which included a black and white photo of myself along with my Otis number, a pin code and the number of my “Red Bag”. I needed to have this “Wristband” with me at all, times to identify myself to all the jail staff. The admittance procedure continued with a body x-ray scanner to detect if I was concealing any hidden items on my body or clothing and then a further strip search was done to make sure that I was not concealing anything in my body. I was then given a bag, which included my jail clothing and bed sheets and a “Spork” which was the only utensil you were given to eat all your meals with. It was a combination of a spoon and a fork, which was made of a soft rubbery plastic. It was made like this on purpose so that no one could use them as a weapon. They take some time getting use to using. You were to have it for your entire stay at this institution. I received institutional clothing which consisted of 3 pairs of blue boxer shorts, 3 pair of beige socks, 3 orange t-shirts and 1 orange jump suit which had a large Velcro strip running down the front to make it easier to get in and out of. I also received I pair of navy flat boat style slip on shoes. I received a “Shower Roll” as well, which was replaced approximately every 3 days that comprised of 3 of each freshly laundered clothing items as above rolled in a fresh towel. The other items I received were toiletry items, which included a bar of soap, 3 toothbrushes, a tube of toothpaste, a tube of shaving gel, a stick of deodorant and a roll of toilet paper. Replenishments of all toiletry items were brought into the unit usually once a week and were left in paper bags in the “Common Area” for inmates to take as they […] Read more
Differences between the Provincial & Federal jails
What you need to understand and accept prior to entering any institution is that prison life is nothing like you are used to on the outside. You will find that staying strong mentally, while keeping a level head and making sure your temper is kept in check will serve you well while incarcerated. You will need to learn the value in “Doing Your Own Time” by staying out of other inmates’ business and their negative activities. You will find many days and situations extremely frustrating, and your temper levels will run high. Correctional Officers will not tolerate such behavior regardless as to whether it is directed at them or another inmate. You could possibly face an institutional charge, which will go on record showing your history of poor behavior while incarcerated. This record can be used against you when it comes time for any of your parole hearings. Whistling during your time in incarceration is frowned upon. It will be to your advantage to always maintain a good rapport with all ‘Correctional Officers” “C.O.’s”, especially in your initial Provincial institution, also known as the “Bucket”. They will be your regular and only method for getting all your written requests delivered to the appropriate department. Like the outside world not all “C.O.’s” view their jobs in the same light or for that matter necessarily like their job or want to help the inmates in any way. What I would suggest is treat it the same way as how you would pick individuals that you want to associate with on the outside, mainly due to their personalities and the way they treat you. Do the same while incarcerated. Choose to communicate with those “C.O.’s” that you feel are trying to be helpful when you are requesting anything. Departments that written requests can be sent to include: Unit Managers, Mail and Personal Property Managers, Trust Account Managers, as well as Nurse and Doctors’ Offices. When you move on to your “Assessment Institution” or your “Mother” institution, the Programs Department and Education Department will be added. Responses from any of these departments may or may not happen after the first request and you may find yourself sending off several requests before a response is generated. So remain calm. B. Martin Maplehurst & Workworth
Read moreParole Eligibility dates and what they means?
One of the most important pieces of information that I wish to share with you in this article deals with your “eligibility dates” which you will receive at some point during your incarceration. You will likely be given little or no information pertaining to this subject by your initial institution prior to receiving your documents. I would strongly suggest that you be proactive in seeking out this information as early as you possible can. First, these dates are only approximate dates and are by no means the day when they will happen. The one specifically that I would like to elaborate on is the eligibility date shown for “Day Parole”. This “Day Parole” requires an inmate to submit a “Request Form” to their “P.O.” to start the process for your opportunity in front of the “Parole Board”. So, if you are sentenced to 3 years or less it would mean that it would be necessary to submit a “Request Form” immediately after arriving at your “Provincial Institution” also known as the “Bucket” to have 5 months prior to your” Eligibility for Day Parole” date. This is the amount of time required by the Federal Prison System to process this request. So, as I already mentioned none of this important information will necessarily be explained to you at any of your institutions until perhaps after your “Day Parole” date passes by and you begin to inquire why you never were approached about it. If by chance, you are g ranted “Day Parole” you need to understand that this “Parole” comes with many more restrictions than “Full Parole”. It usually requires that you get placement into a “Halfway House” rent free with some providing meals as well at no cost. In most cases you may be required to obtain a job within the community and may be required to wear an ankle bracelet when doing so. You will also have a curfew time when you must be back at your “Halfway House” in the evenings. The required time that you would spend in these “Halfway Houses” would be determined by your “Community Parole Officer” before being allowed back into your community on your own. In regard to being granted “Full Parole”, this is legislative driven and does not require an inmate to submit a “Request Form”. Usually a “Parole Board” hearing is arranged around 1 month prior to your “Full Parole” date. “Full Parole” comes with fewer restrictions along with the ability to return to your own residence. There will likely be already established court ordered restrictions on what you can and cannot do and where you may or may not go. Usually you will be assigned a “Community Parole Officer” that you are required to check in with once a week at the beginning and perhaps less often as your “Community Parole Officer” sees fit, depending on how you conduct yourself over the course of time. For either of these paroles to be granted by the “Parole Board” you must have completed any programs that your “P.O.” had indicated that you needed to do prior to the dates indicated on your […] Read more
Insight for first time inmates & their families!
An Insight Into Life Inside A Prison For First Time Offenders Anxiety and fear can become growing demons within any one of us. The lack of knowledge about any subject or the absence of information pertaining to any specific subject can cause one to conjure up some wild ideas in our minds on what we believe that subject’s reality is, especially when the subject matter pertains to life during incarceration. My 8 months under “House Arrest” coincided with the outbreak of Covid-19. The main impact that it had on my case was that I was not required to attend any in court hearings. Instead, video conferences became the norm for most hearings. The video conferences during my case included the Crown, the presiding Judge, and my Lawyer. Any new developments coming from these regarding my case would be relayed to me through a series of phone calls from my lawyer. With each subsequent call that I received; I was led to believe that my time remaining within mainstream society was running out quickly. My definition of quickly did not include anything that spanned an 8-month period. So, this situation that I had no control over, along with my fabricated ideas of what incarcerated life might be like created a whirlwind of negative emotions of frustration and fear in my mind. The fact that I was also not present for any of the court proceedings or decisions that were being made during the court proceedings regarding my case created a constant tenseness throughout my body as well. My anxieties and fears would have been greatly reduced had I been able to access any information regarding incarceration from “first-time offenders” describing their own experiences. This lack of information pertaining to incarceration motivated me to compile all my own daily journal writings into an informative article aimed towards enlightening “first-time offenders”. I hope that this article will inspire other “first-time offenders” to write informative articles about their own journey, detailing their experiences during incarceration. These additional writings will help increase the ease in which “first-timers” will be able to find this much-needed information. It will also give “first-time offenders” many different perspectives regarding incarceration, and how everyone might react differently to any given situation during their time. My intention s to give you as much helpful information as possible, to the new environment(prison), so you will be better prepared. You will gain some insight on day-to-day life and the many rules and regulations you will be dealing with. This will help you navigate your way through the system without experiencing much of the serious altercations new comers face. Being able to control your anger and frustration over situations will be paramount during incarceration, especially if either of these have been an issue for you on the outside. Individual experiences in incarceration will vary, perhaps greatly depending on the severity of your charges, the length of your sentence and how you conduct yourself with other inmates and “C.O.’s”. In my case, I was sentenced to 3 years with the possibility of full parole after serving one-third (1 Year). My incarceration happened to coincide during […] Read more
How Inmates in Canadian Prisons suffer!
Inmates in Canadian Prisons Suffer to varying degrees, regardless of their color, class or religion. Some of the few areas of the suffering are • Mental health crises for which there are few resources • COVID-19 lockdowns • Overuse of solitary confinement • A racialized justice system that criminalizes Indigenous Peoples and Black Canadians • A lack of preparation for re-entry into society These are the tip-of-the-iceberg issues faced by inmates in Canada’s federal and provincial prisons. And according to advocates for better inmate treatment, much more needs to be done. According to Statistics Canada, in 2017/2018, Canadian prisons held just under 39,000 adults: • a little under 25,000 in provincial or territorial custody (83 per 100,000 population) • 14,000 in federal custody (48 per 100,000) • for a national total of 131 adults per 100,000 citizens. Investigations by the prisoner advocacy group John Howard Society of Canada (JHS) show total spending on criminal justice in Canada (at all levels of government) is about $20 billion annually. Provinces and municipalities spend 70% of that total. Prisons and jails get $5 billion (55% provincial and 45% federal) with the balance going to police services and the court system. With that context in mind, let’s look at four major issues of inmate treatment in Canadian jails. 1. Health issues Health issues continue to devastate inmates’ rights. Inmates are far more likely than the general population to suffer from HIV and AIDS, are more prone to psychiatric issues, and are more than 100 times as likely to suffer from Hepatitis C. Once released, inmates are 58 times more likely than the general population to have psychiatric episodes that land them in a health care facility. As well, inmates may be overmedicated. According to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, 46% of women in prisons are being treated with psychotropic drugs (used for conditions such as anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia). Catherine Latimer, executive director of the John Howard Society of Canada, says inmates receive far less health care than the general community does “and we see them (inmates) as aging 10 years faster in the prison community than in the regular community.” In an email interview, Sandra Ka Hon Chu, a lawyer and the director of research and advocacy at Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, says: Health care for prisoners living with HIV (and hepatitis C or HCV, another virus transmissible by injection drug use) is a significant public health concern, especially in light of rates of HIV and HCV in prison that are considerably higher than they are in the community as a whole. A 2016 study indicated that about 30% of prisoners in federal facilities, and 15% of men and 30% of women in provincial facilities. are living with HCV, and 1–2% of men and 1–9% of women are living with HIV. Indigenous prisoners, in particular, have much higher rates of HIV and HCV than non-Indigenous prisoners; e.g. Indigenous women in federal prisons are reported to have rates of HIV and HCV of 11.7% and 49.1%, respectively. Not surprisingly, research shows that the incarceration of people who inject drugs is a factor […] Read more
A former inmate personal story!
BEING IN PRISON Over the past five years of my recent imprisonment, I’ve been in a number of Canadian federal penitentiaries, right across the country, everywhere from the Millhaven Special Handling Unit in Ontario, to the Prince Albert Special Handling Unit in Saskatchewan, and now, the Edmonton Institution. Prison can be a very difficult environment to live in even at the so-called “best of times,” but when things are going wrong and you find yourself being transferred all over the country, from one prison stronghold to another, miles away from your friends and family, that which was once “difficult” soon becomes unbearable. That’s what I found from my own personal experiences, anyway. Perhaps this may not be the case with other prisoners who have had the same misfortune to share my experiences, but I don’t think so because we are not so different from one another in this regard. I am originally from Regina, Saskatchewan. Born, bred, and raised. So it is easily understandable that I was left feeling very much alone when I was shipped to the Millhaven Special Handling Unit located in the Kingston, Ontario region. What hit me the hardest was not so much the fact that I was being sent to one of Canada’s two super maximum security facilities, which meant that I would be forced to live under some very extreme and harsh living conditions, but that I was so far away from both friends and family. When you are in prison, general contact and support from one’s friends and family can be very conducive to one’s morale and general state of mind. After all, even people who are not incarcerated have the same basic need and desire to know that they are loved and that someone cares about what happens to them. You do not suddenly surrender this basic human need when you enter a prison. If anything, this need is magnified and intensified when one is suddenly and forcibly removed from his home and family, only to be locked up in a totally alien and hostile environment. The 21 months that I spent locked up im that Ontario prison were perhaps the most difficult time that I have been forced to deal with during the past five years that I’ve been in prison. It wasn’t so much the prison and the harsh living conditions that I had to contend with that lead me to say this, for as a prisoner, one soon learns how to adapt to the environment, regardless how harsh or extreme, because if you don’t it will soon overwhelm and devour you totally. This is one of the basic realities of prison that you would do best to learn as soon as possible for your benefit and overall wellbeing. Prison is not a new experience to me and I found it relatively simple to adapt to the harsh and inhuman living conditions that prisoners are forced to contend with while incarcerated in a super maximum security prison. What I did find difficult to adapt to was being so far away from my home and family in Saskatchewan. That was one […] Read more
A Failing Canadian Prison System.
Michael Ignatieff stared right at the Prime Minister. “I worked in a prison when I was a younger graduate student,” he said. “I worked with lifers. I’m utterly unsentimental about criminals, but one thing I know about prison: It’s that prison makes almost everybody worse who’s in there.” It was a rare personable moment for Ignatieff, who normally has the air of a university lecturer, and it came in the middle of the televised leaders’ debate. “You’re going to end up with more crime problems, not less,” Ignatieff said, imploring Stephen Harper to drop his $13 billion plan for stiffer prison sentences and mega-prisons. His hands held aloft, in front of the television cameras, he said it’s high time for an “adult solution.” In fact, by nearly every metric, found in a veritable mountain of reports from Correctional Services Canada and its watchdog, the Office of the Correctional Investigator, our penal system is badly broken. • Our prison system is dangerous: There were five murders in Canadian prisons last year, making the homicide rate in our prisons 20 times higher than Toronto. In a year, correctional officers deployed force more than 2,000 times. More than 60 per cent of prison staff were subject to physical violence. The Correctional Investigator reports “there is no overall strategy that specifically and intentionally aims to prevent sexual violence in Canadian federal penitentiaries.” • Our prison system is racist. There are more than 12,500 inmates in our federal system: Nearly one-third of them are Indigenous, eight per cent are black. Upwards of three-quarters of the prison population in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are Indigenous. Black and Indigenous inmates are both twice as likely to be subject to use of force, more likely to be classified for maximum security, more likely to be involuntarily put into solitary confinement, and less likely to be paroled. • Our prison system is falling apart. Many prisons ought to be condemned and torn down. Four are more than a century old, and another two are nearly that old. The infrastructure is crumbling and the technology running the prisons is antiquated. • Our prison system is warehousing people struggling with their mental health. It is estimated that at least 10 per cent of inmates meet the criteria for fetal alcohol syndrome, 80 per cent have substance abuse issues when incarcerated, while some 45 per cent have antisocial personality disorders. • Our prison system is eye-wateringly expensive. Correctional Services Canada (CSC), with its $2.6 billion budget, is the 15th largest department or agency by spending — it is larger than the CBC and Department of Justice combined. Ranked by the number of staff, it is the sixth largest department. It costs CSC $110,000 per year to house each inmate, with about three-quarters of that number going to employee costs. • Our prison system isn’t even working. All available evidence shows that our prisons are doing little to reduce crime, and may even be increasing it. More than 40 per cent of all inmates released are returned to custody within two years, usually on parole violations. About a quarter of all those released from […] Read more
