After the announcement of the closure of the women’s prison by the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) on Friday, inmates have fears about their fate if they are transferred to the Leclerc detention center in Laval.
“I want everyone to be aware of the repercussions and upheaval that the closure of the Women’s Detention Center (CDF) will bring to the lives of many women who only want one thing: to get out of it,” writes an inmate from the center who says she is “ready to fight” for the CDF to remain open.
Around fifty women will have to be relocated from the Quebec detention center, nicknamed Orsainville, to the Leclerc detention center just north of Montreal, a decision that is not warmly welcomed by everyone. The inmate’s lawyer, Me Adèle Juster, explains that transferring these women to Laval will make the legal process more complicated and generate costs, particularly transportation, for the prisoners, defense lawyers and the families of the detainees.
“I find it insane […] to move us to the Laval prison where links with our loved ones will be cut as well as relations with our lawyers,” said the writer of the letter, who wished to remain anonymous in order to avoid any risk of reprisals.
A destabilizing process
“It can create problems, for example, with the question of contacts with the family and contacts with the lawyer. But it can also have a big impact on social reintegration. If the person is engaged in any program of work, training or courses, this can interrupt the process initiated and have repercussions on possible parole,” indicates Jean-Claude Bernheim, expert in criminology.
According to Me Juster, this is the case of her client who is currently part of a workshop program allowing her to work and earn a little money and, therefore, independence.
Links are also created with Quebec correctional officers. “A year ago, I entered this prison totally lost and afraid […]but the CDF correctional officers were able to help me, change my way of seeing life and make me a new person,” writes the inmate.
An inmate at the Quebec Women’s Detention Center wrote a letter to show her dissatisfaction with the closure of the center.
“He is someone who is in the legal process with no prior record, so it is certain that for a person who is in detention for the first time, it takes a little support to get through it,” mentions Mr. Juster while speaking. of his client.
Move the problem elsewhere
The MSP’s decision was taken in order to lighten the task of agents, in particular, who must work a high number of compulsory overtime hours. However, moving inmates to the Leclerc detention center could simply shift the problem elsewhere, Bernheim said.
“It is public knowledge that the conditions of detention in Laval are execrable and, therefore, welcoming new detainees will not improve the situation,” he reports. “We can think that the correctional staff who are already in place are probably overloaded, so we will overload them even more.”
This states that the MSP tends to act only when there is a crisis rather than examining the overall functioning of institutions: “When there is a crisis, they try to respond temporarily to a problem that may be recurrent “.
For its part, the ministry responds: “The situation in Quebec detention establishments is one of the minister’s priorities. He asked the ministry’s teams to work on solutions to help correctional officers in the field.
