|
|
| Weighing the Costs of closing Owen Sound's jail |
| By DENIS LANGLOIS, , SUN TIMES STAFF |
| Published: 04/14/2011 |
|
The province is closing Owen Sound's jail as a way to save money, but the economic and social impacts were "all well thought out" before the decision was made, says a high-ranking bureaucrat at Queen's Park. "It was a matter of efficiencies," said Steven Small, the assistant deputy minister in charge of the adult institutional services portfolio with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Small, who met Wednesday with correctional workers from the Owen Sound jail and Owen Sound Mayor Deb Haswell and a delegation of city officials, said the per inmate cost at the Owen Sound facility is "twice as much" as the cost at the Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene. He said a "number of factors" were considered before the province decided to close the jail, including the cost to transfer prisoners to and from the Owen Sound courthouse and the so-called super jail in Penetang, the impact on jail employees and prisoners and the overall cost savings. The consideration the province gave to the social and economic impacts of closing the jail were repeatedly called into question during a news conference earlier in the day at city hall. Haswell said the city is asking the McGuinty government to postpone closing the jail and conduct a "full review" before taking any further action. "I believe when they do that, they'll see the efficiencies of having a medium-sized jail in our area," she said. She said the province has still not indicated whether or not the per diem rates it quotes include the extra cost to transport inmates between Owen Sound and Penetanguishene. Closing the jail will "eliminate" the option for the courts to hand down intermittent and temporary absence sentences, she said, and isolate inmates from resources and supports in their communities. Jail employees and their families will be forced to move away, she said, and about $3 million in annual wages will be taken out of the area. "The ripple effect is huge in a community like this," Haswell said. Owen Sound council passed a motion Monday to ask that the jail be kept open until a new one is built in Grey County. Small said "there is absolutely no planning or decision-making (underway) in building a new jail." He said he has a meeting scheduled for Thursday morning with community safety and correctional services Minister Jim Bradley during which he will "convey" Owen Sound's concerns. Small said he is a public servant, the decision to close the jail was made by the province and his job is to "carry out those decisions." Read More. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think