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Super Jails
Undermine Human Dignity, Social Bonds

Letter to Editor of Ottawa Citizen on Ontario Super Jails
Undermine Human Dignity, Social Bonds
Churches Deplore Ontario Super-jails

TORONTO, ON. - The five super jails being built in Ontario are an affront to human dignity and a sure-fire recipe for less healthy communities and inferior corrections, says a church coalition with 25 years criminal justice experience.

While some Ontario politicians and citizens cheer more punishment in these 'no-frills strict discipline institutions', "we deplore the lack of social analysis or discussion on the human and gospel values behind these ideas," said Michael Maher, president of The Church Council on Justice and Corrections, a national, ecumenical church coalition.

"High tech, automated super jails further disconnect people - the keeper from the kept, the family and support systems from the person incarcerated. They are an affront to the gospel because they are an affront to human dignity."

If we genuinely want safer communities, citizens need to know that these super jails will mean regional displacement from family and friends which will further alienate prisoners from their number one social support network. It will require increased expenses and time for families and volunteers to visit prisoners. Aboriginal offenders could be jailed a thousand kilometres or more away from their culture and communities. The strong emphasis on technology and heightened security will decrease social and human contact on a day to day basis. The quality of legal representation risks diminishing as lawyers are offered audio and video teleconferencing rather than speaking with their clients in person. Super spartan prisons will further destroy social bonds.

"Make it tough and they won't come back" doesn't work in a real world where influences of illiteracy, fetal alcohol syndrome and a host of other mental health, health and education deficiencies outweigh any 'get tough' messages. Yet many programs for these social problems have been cut by this government.

These jails are the further Americanization of Canadian corrections. Similar U.S. models have not delivered on safer communities and less re-offending. Prisons, especially prisons for profit handed over to the private sector, increase the dividends for crime control as industry. So the government ignores the causes, builds bigger prisons, give people jobs at them, and reap the benefits of crime, and crime control! At a conference in Chicago two years ago, one former inmate explained that the southern cornfields of Illinois had been replaced by 13 new prisons. "They grow prisons now, not corn."

And out of all proportion to their numbers in population, the face of the prisoner is increasingly more often than not poor, any colour but white, and anyone who goes against what a fearful majority decide, e.g. squeegee persons and panhandlers.

We need to ask tough questions about "get tough" justice policy championed by this government and some media or social policy sectors. The average stay in jail of an Ontario male prisoner is 83 days in jail, and 63 days for females. Before people react to those statistics as proof of too lenient sentences, we need to reflect on the province's over-use of courts and jails for a wide range of property, alcohol and drug-related offences, breaches of probation, failure to pay finds, etc.. This addiction with jails is one primary reason for corrections cost. There are other, more promising restorative justice approaches to crime that pay attention to victim and offender needs and that promote both healing and accountability.

Promises by government spokespersons that centralized locations will enhance programming beg credibility with a government whose mantra has been cuts at all costs. The church coalition asks for the evidence from government that programming will improve in these super jails.

For further information contact:
Rick Prashaw
Communications Coordinator
tel. (613) 563-1688
fax. (613) 237-6129
email: ccjc@ccjc.ca

Member Churches:(includes thousands of congregations in the province of Ontario) 11 National churches representing approximately 14,000 congregations

The Anglican Church of Canada, Canadian Baptist Ministries, Christian Reformed Churches in Canada, Disciples of Christ in Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Mennonite Central Committee Canada, The Presbyterian Church in Canada, The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), The Roman Catholic Church, The Salvation Army, The United Church of Canada.


Letter to Editor of Ottawa Citizen on Ontario Super Jails
April 17, 2000

Michael Harris' front-page column, Ontario to show 'feds" how to run a jail, was a superficial hurrah to super-jails coming soon to the province. His lack of social analysis or thought is numbing. That the Citizen chose to highlight it on page one is mind-boggling.

Harris cheers on more punishment in these 'no-frills strict discipline institutions', not for a minute bothering to check if similar U.S. models ever delivered on safer communities and less re-offending. They haven't!. "Make it tough and they won't come back" doesn't work in a real world where influences of illiteracy, fetal alcohol syndrome and a host of other mental health, health and education deficiencies outweigh any 'get tough' messages. Many programs for these influences have been cut by this government. So ignore the causes, build bigger prisons, give people jobs at them, and reap the benefits of crime, and crime control!

These jails are the further Americanization of Canadian corrections. Prisons, especially prisons for profit handed over to the private sector, increase the dividends for crime control as industry. At a conference in Chicago two years ago, I heard one former inmate explain that the southern cornfields of Illinois had been replaced by 13 new prisons. "They grow prisons, not corn now."

And out of all proportion to their numbers in population, the face of the prisoner is poor, any colour but white, and anyone who goes against what the majority decide, e.g. squeegee persons and panhandlers.

Michael, if you genuinely want safer communities, you need to know that these super jails will mean regional displacement from family and friends which will further alienate prisoners from their number one social support network conducive to rehabilitation. It will require increased expenses and time for families and volunteers to visit prisoners. In Ontario, aboriginal offenders could be a thousand kilometres or more away from their culture and communities. The strong emphasis on technology and heightened security will decrease the kind of social and human contact on a day to day basis. The quality of legal representation risks diminishing as lawyers are offered audio and video teleconferencing and not having to speak with their clients in person. Super spartan prisons will further destroy social bonds.

Harris does not delve into why it is that the average Ontario male prisoner spends 83 days in jail, females 63. Before he cries about the sentences being too lenient, he may want to see how we over-use courts and jails for a plethora of property, alcohol and drug-related offences, breaches of probation, failure to pay finds. Our addiction with jails is one primary reasons for corrections cost. Promises by government spokespersons that centralized locations will enhance programming beg credibility with a government whose mantra is cuts at all costs.

Rick Prashaw
Church Council on Justice and Corrections


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