Call it a changing of the guard at the troubled Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC).
Nearly the entire senior administration at EMDC has been, or is in the process of being replaced.
Many believe its a big step forward in rehabilitating the jail.
"There's been a huge turnover and a lot of change," says Rain Loftus, OPSEU spokesperson.
Over the last few months, the Ministry of Correctional Services has replaced four senior administrators, including the superintendent and two deputies who will soon be transferred to other jails.
"There have been problems and maybe this will change the dynamic there hopefully we'll have better results going forward, at least communication," says Loftus.
Many believe that poor communication between senior staff and correctional officers is a leading cause of violence at EMDC.
In the past, guards weren't always informed about an inmate's history; how they were treated and acted as other institutions.
It means that inmates who used to be housed in segregation, isolated from other inmates, were now being placed in general population and sharing cells.
In October, Sarnia's Anthony George was housed with Adam Kargus.
George was a known predator at the Sarnia jail and was usually kept away from others.
But that didn't happen when he arrived at EMDC because while senior administrators knew George's past, although the guards did not.
"When you have that type of breakdown in communication, when you're dealing with the type of work they are dealing with, it does have deadly consequences and unfortunately that's what's happened," says
George was charged with second degree murder after he allegedly beat Kargus to death.
"I think it comes down to poor management," says Kevin Eagen, lawyer for the Kargus family.
He says changes were long over due.
"It's a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done," says Eagen.
