Ontario jail inmate numbers spike in last year, now well over capacity, data shows

An overwhelming 81 per cent of inmates, according to the Ontario government, are being held awaiting trial and presumptively innocent.

Ontario’s jails have seen a dramatic increase in the number of inmates over the past year with the majority of the facilities well over capacity, new data obtained by The Canadian Press shows.

Meanwhile, an overwhelming number of inmates held – 81 per cent, the government said – are awaiting trial and presumptively innocent.

The data, obtained through freedom-of-information laws, shows the average inmate count and institutional capacity over the past 10 years for the province’s jails. Those institutions hold people accused of a crime but not out on bail, as well as those serving sentences of two years less a day.

As of Sept. 30, 2023, there was an average of 8,889 people in provincial jails, well over the 7,848-person capacity. Overall, the jails were operating at 113 per cent capacity at that time.

Most of Ontario’s institutions were over capacity in 2023, the data shows.

Maplehurst Correction Complex in Milton, Ont., was the most overcrowded last year, with an average inmate population of 1,188 but official capacity for 887 – meaning it was operating at 134 per cent capacity in 2023.

Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre in London, Ont., was a close second at 133 per cent capacity, with an average 471 inmates while having operational capacity for 353.

South West Detention Centre in Windsor, Ont., was operating at 129 per cent capacity, with 337 inmates but space for only 262 people.