WINDSOR, ONT. -- The South West Detention Centre in Windsor will be getting two ion scanners from the province to enhance security preventing drugs and other contraband from getting inside.
The Ontario The government is installing the scanners at 10 correctional facilities across the province.
"This announcement from the government is a testament to their dedication to frontline corrections staff," co-chair of the Corrections Ministry Employee Relations Committee Chris Jackel said in a news release. "This technological investment will go a long way in providing correctional staff with the added tools to detect contraband before it enters our institutions, enhancing staff, inmate and public safety even further."
Ion scanners are used to detect and identify trace elements of drugs, adding another layer of security for staff to help prevent substances from getting inside.
According to the province, adult correctional facilities in Ontario currently use methods such as body scanners, hand-held and walk through metal detectors, strip searches and canine units to detect contraband.
In 2019, a rally was held outside the South West Detention Centre after it was reported there had been at least four overdoses, including one fatal, at the jail over a less than two-week period.
"Detecting and preventing the entry of contraband is critical to keeping Ontario's correctional facilities safe," solicitor general Sylvia Jones said. "Our government is committed to equipping our corrections staff with the modern tools and technology they need to do their job safely and ensure continued security.”
The province says work is currently underway to train staff at the institutions receiving the ion scanners to have them fully operationally by this summer.
The ion scanners are part of the government’s commitment to invest more than $500 million over five years “to transform adult correctional services in Ontario” as well as part of a wider strategy to keep contraband out of adult detention centres.
