The beleaguered Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre will be getting 16 new correctional officers in the very near future.
Queen's Park announced Friday that 139 new correctional officer graduates are being deployed to 15 prisons across the province to increase staffing levels.
The new grads completed an eight-week program, including mental health training and inmate management techniques.
In a statement released Friday, Yasir Naqvi, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services said:
“It is my pleasure to welcome these 139 new correctional officers, the largest class of recruits ever to enter the Ontario Correctional Services College, who will further build on the 571 new correctional officers our government has hired and trained since 2013. They are a vital part of the work that is underway to transform our correctional system and I want to thank them for choosing a career dedicated to public service and helping to keep our communities safe.”
The Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre has a notorious reputation as a dangerous, overcrowded jail that has seen numerous acts of serious violence, including the death of inmate Adam Kargus, 29, on Oct. 31. 2013.
