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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Brandon jail capacity to rise to 244 inmates

By: Staff Writer

9/07/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

BRANDON Correctional Centre will expand by 80 beds, provincial officials said Wednesday.

Attorney General Dave Chomiak and Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Ron Lemieux said the expansion is part of the government's tough stance on crime and the need to imprison more offenders.

The new unit will add low- to medium-security bed space to the current mix of custody units available across the adult correctional system, expanding the capacity of the facility to 244 inmates from 164.

The Brandon Correctional Centre holds both sentenced inmates and prisoners awaiting trial. It includes a youth unit to house six offenders and a unit to house eight adult female offenders.

Construction is expected to start this fall, with substantial completion expected in late 2010.

The province recently said construction of a new women's jail in Headingley is also underway to replace the aging Portage Women's Correctional Centre in Portage la Prairie.

Expansion of the adult offender jail system also includes the addition of a 150-bed unit at Milner Ridge Correctional Centre near Beausejour.

The announcement comes after the Opposition Tories lobbied the Doer government to create a drug-treatment jail as well.

Progressive Conservative justice critic Kelvin Goertzen has said drug abuse is one of the main reasons for the province's high recidivism rate. He has said a proper treatment program would reduce the number of offenders who are rearrested. Many offenders admit they commit crimes because of a drug problem.

Chomiak and Lemieux also said construction will begin shortly on a new 48-cell expansion at the Agassiz Youth Centre (AYC) in Portage la Prairie. Chomiak said the space will add needed capacity and allow staff to manage young offenders in a safer and more secure environment.

Construction at AYC is expected to begin this summer, with substantial completion expected by the end of 2010.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 9, 2009 A6

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