Maplehurst Correctional Facility is one of ten institutions receiving new ion scanners.
The province is providing the scanners to help with detecting contraband entering facilities. They should also help strengthen security and improve staff and inmate safety. An ion scanner was first introduced at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre in 2018 as a pilot and has been successfully used in identifying contraband drugs like fentanyl.
Solicitor General Sylvia Jones says keeping drugs like fentanyl out of the correctional facilities is critical.
“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.”
Ion scanners are security tools used to detect and identify trace elements of drugs and are an added layer of security available to correctional staff to help prevent illegal substances from entering facilities. Adult correctional facilities in Ontario currently use various methods to prevent, detect, confiscate, and reduce contraband within institutions, including body scanners, hand-held and walk-through metal detectors, strip searches, and canine units.
Other facilities to receive the scanners are:
- Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre;
- Central East Correctional Centre;
- Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre;
- Kenora Jail;
- Thunder Bay Jail;
- Sudbury Jail;
- Toronto South Detention Centre;
- Central North Correctional Centre;
- and the South West Detention Centre.
The scanners should be fully operational by the summer.
