"Latest numbers from 2025 show that for every 100 inmates, around 11 staff were assaulted. That's up from around nine in 2024. Nine staff were also assaulted in 2019 before the pandemic. The data for 2025 also shows that for every 100 inmates, 67 were assaulted by another inmate, which is up from around 60 in 2023 and 66 in 2019."
"Things are getting more violent largely because of capacity issues and bed space issues. We've got a significant increase in the number of inmates being housed in provincial correctional facilities in the same space with the same number of staff."
"An Ontario ombudsman report last June found that correctional institutions faced chronic staff shortages, with some operating at over 150 per cent of their capacity."
Ontario correctional facilities are experiencing rising violence rates across both inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff assaults, according to data analyzed by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. Staff assault rates increased from 9 per 100 inmates in 2024 to 11 in 2025, while inmate-on-inmate assaults reached 67 per 100 inmates in 2025, up from 60 in 2023. The primary causes are overcrowding and chronic staff shortages, with some facilities operating at over 150 percent capacity. An Ontario ombudsman report identified multiple concerns including overcrowding with three inmates in cells designed for fewer people. These escalating violence rates coincide with provincial tough-on-crime measures and calls for federal bail reform.
#ontario-jail-violence #overcrowding-and-capacity #staff-shortages #correctional-facilities #inmate-assaults
Read at www.cbc.ca
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