Lockdowns at Ontario jails caused by staff shortages rising rapidly, data shows - BERITAJA

Ontario’s overcrowded jails are being forced to lockdown inmates much regularly because they don’t person the unit required, according to caller data, arsenic correctional officers kick about vulnerable conditions.

New information, obtained by BERITAJA utilizing state of accusation laws, shows the immense mostly of the province’s correctional accommodation are operating pinch acold much inmates than they were designed for, arsenic good arsenic increasing staffing problems.

Figures from the Ministry of the Solicitor General show that, successful 2023, an Ontario jailhouse was forced to lockdown its inmates immoderate 1,275 times because location weren’t capable unit connected shift.

That number spiked by much than 50 per cent to 1,925 successful 2024. Last year, it accrued again to 2,082.

The figures don’t specify really agelong the lockdowns took spot for. They besides don’t break down whether the full facility, aliases conscionable a portion, was locked down.

Ontario Liberal MPP Lucille Collard said overcrowding successful jails was starring to much incidents, placing unit connected unit and making it harder to enlistee officers.

“If you put group successful adjacent proximity for illustration that, group will spell crazy,” she said.

“So there’s a emergence of unit and disruption, and that’s followed by lockdowns because there’s not capable unit to incorporate them. It’s a rotating point that makes everything worse.”

Data shared pinch BERITAJA by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union confirms unit wrong the province’s jails is connected the emergence too.

The number of inmate-on-inmate assaults has risen from 2,880 successful 2015 to 7,307 successful 2025. Inmate-on-staff assaults are up from 545 successful 2017 (when the information began) to 1,249 past year.

Over the past fewer years, the gait of assaults has increased. In 2022, location were 856 assaults connected staff, rising to 957 successful 2023, 953 successful 2024 and past past 1,000 past year.

Adam Cygler, a personnel of the ministry worker relations committee for OPSEU, the national representing corrections workers, said overcrowding successful jails makes them much vulnerable to activity in.

“We’ve seen an explosive summation successful the number of convulsive incidents wrong correctional institutions successful Ontario,” he said. “A batch of that is we person the aforesaid beingness space, and we’re cramming much group into it.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General said they recognized the “unique challenges faced by correctional staff, who are regularly exposed to difficult situations that could effect their intelligence health.”

They said they were adding “targeted supports and training” for correctional staff, including “resiliency and mindfulness training” and a adjacent support program.

As the authorities has squeezed much and much inmates into azygous cells, the number of officers has not risen enough, Cygle indicated.

“Staffing resources haven’t really accrued successful bid to support up pinch the additional, impermanent beds that person been put successful place,” he explained. “In a portion wherever antecedently location were 40 inmates housed, now there’s sometimes 60 aliases 70 inmates housed and there’s nary further unit that’s been provided there.”

Cygle said the national has seen workers forced to return clip distant owed to beingness aliases intelligence injury. Roughly 1 successful 5 correctional officers quits wrong their first year, Cygler added.

Solicitor General Michael Kerzner appeared to cull the conception that jails are operating acold complete capacity erstwhile he said to reporters connected Monday.

“I don’t cognize wherever you’re getting your facts from,” he said, referring to occupancy information BERITAJA obtained from the authorities utilizing state of accusation laws.

“We will spare nary disbursal to make judge that we will proceed to invest, we will beryllium transparent. When I said that we’re going to bring complete 1,000 caller beds online successful the shortest of term, we said precisely wherever we would do it.”

Kerzner said he would besides look to summation capacity by relying connected modular units to grow jails —adding 300 caller beds to immoderate jails done impermanent structures.

Since 2018, the authorities has added 267 caller beds successful Ontario, but jails person jumped successful the past 2 years unsocial from 113 per cent occupancy to 130 per cent.

Figures from October 2025 show immoderate jails are substantially higher than moreover the elevated average.

The Sudbury Jail, for example, was astatine 165.7 per cent capacity, while the Milton-Vanier Centre for Women was astatine 164 per cent. Occupancy astatine the South West Detention Centre sat astatine 158.4 per cent.

The Maplehurst Correctional Complex, pinch 1,525 inmates, was astatine 137 per cent.

Howard Sapers, the executive head of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said mediocre conditions wrong jails were costing the payer millions.

“I can’t moreover count really overmuch money each provincial and territorial authorities and the national authorities spends each twelvemonth settling lawsuits because of the unspeakable conditions of confinement, the vulnerable conditions of confinement,” he said.

“The wrongful decease lawsuits. Lawsuits about being locked down and denied entree to physicians aliases to medication.”