Adult correctional facilities in Ontario are divided into four categories: correctional centres, jails, detention centres, and treatment centres. Some facilities are more than one type. Correctional centres house sentenced offenders who are serving a period of incarceration of up to two years, less a day.[a] Provincial jails (historically spelled gaols) and detention centres house persons awaiting trial, offenders serving short sentences, or offenders awaiting transfer to other facilities. Jails are smaller and older facilities originally established by local governments while detention centres are larger, regional facilities. Treatment centres are specialized facilities treating offenders for sexual misconduct, substance abuse, anger management, and other issues.[1]
Youth correctional facilities in Ontario are also called "secure custody facilities" and hold young people who were between 12 and 17 years of age at the time of offence. Youths are held in secure custody facilities if they are sentenced to secure custody after being found guilty of a crime or if a youth is ordered to be held in custody before or during a trial.[2] As of 2020[update], the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services directly operates six secure custody facilities.[2]
The Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women in 1895The Nicholas Street Gaol, 2007The Toronto Central Prison for men circa 1873The Toronto "Don" Jail circa 1860s.
^ ab"Looking for a job or to volunteer in youth justice?". Ministry of Children and Youth Services. Queen's Printer for Ontario. Retrieved March 30, 2020. Youth Justice Services operates six Youth Centres across Ontario. They provide rehabilitative programming and reintegration services within a secure environment to young persons in conflict with the law. These secure custody/detention facilities accommodate young people who are ages 12 to 17 (at the time of the offence) and who are being detained or serving sentences.
^ abCooke, Diana; Finlay, Judy (2007). Review: Open Detention and Open Custody in Ontario(PDF) (Report). Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy. Retrieved March 25, 2020. Interestingly, three of Ontario's current secure custody youth centres began as industrial or training schools: Brookside Youth Centre (1946) Sprucedale Youth Centre (1966), and Cecil Facer Youth Centre (1971).
