New Jail in Summerside?

The best situation, without sounding a bit biased, would be to renovate Sleepy Hollow and rebuild the Summerside jail. Having Summerside, Kensington and Borden municipal police forces, due to resources, drive offenders to one centralized jail, most likely Charlottetown, would not be practical. Summerside has been told for years a new jail is in the works and I believe that scenario would be best.

Jails slated for major change
WAYNE THIBODEAU The Guardian
P.E.I.’s jails could be undergoing a major overhaul. The province is considering three options to address the aging jails, one in the Charlottetown area and the other in Summerside, as well as overcrowding and a lack of space for female offenders.Those options include shutting down the Provincial Correctional Centre, also known as Sleepy Hollow, near Charlottetown and the Prince County Correctional Centre in Summerside, and building a new facility for the whole province. That facility would be centrally located and could cost as much as $44 million.The second option is to build two new jails — one in Charlottetown and the second in Summerside. But that would cost even more, carrying a price tag of $53 million.The third and most likely option is for the province to build a new jail in Summerside, and renovate the Sleepy Hollow facility at a cost of $38 million. The new Summerside jail would accommodate 60 inmates, including a female unit, and cost an estimated $17 million. The remaining $21 million would be spent at Sleepy Hollow.Provincial Treasurer Wes Sheridan said all options are still being considered. He said they are waiting for a consultant’s report, to be completed at the end of the month, before making a final decision.“We’ll make our final decisions from there,’’ said Sheridan. The Prince County Correctional Centre in Summerside was built in 1876. It now has 18 units. The Sleepy Hollow facility was designed to 1979 standards. In his capital budget last week, Sheridan hinted about the need to modernize the Island’s correctional facilities.The budget sets aside $17 million over the next five years, but provincial officials admit much more money will be needed. The capital budget sets aside $2 million a year for the next two years and $8 million in 2011-2012 for the corrections modernization program. That would be topped off with an additional $5 million in 2012-2013. “Our correctional facilities have long been overlooked, they are outdated and do not have the capacity to meet our judicial challenges today, much less tomorrow,’’ Sheridan said.“On any given weekend, our system is stretched to levels beyond that which they were intended to serve.’’Attorney General Gerard Greenan said that may be an understatement.Sleepy Hollow was built to house 76 inmates.Renovations have increased that number to 96 inmates.But on any given weekend, Sleepy Hollow could have 150 inmates - 54 more than they are supposed to be accommodating.“They are double- and triple-bunking,’’ said Greenan. “They are taking the library. They are using it on the weekend. They are using the gym.’’The space is even more limited for female inmates. There are currently twice as many women being held in the Sleepy Hollow facility than what the building is able to accommodate.“There are certainly issues around correctional facilities here in the province,’’ Greenan added. Greenan said while the province hasn’t decided what direction it will take, the most likely route is a new jail in Summerside and an expansion and renovations in Charlottetown. He said the new Summerside facility would then be used as a provincial facility and not only house inmates from Prince County. Greenan said the $2 million set aside for this year will definitely be used for much needed renovations at the Charlottetown area facility.“With $17 million, and we’re taking $2 million immediately to renovate the Provincial Correctional Centre, the remainder would not build a new, central facility,’’ said Greenan.“It could be enough, and it probably is enough, to build a new facility in Prince County.’’