In Four Block the cell doors were opened individually with a key as seen here. The Response Team is entering the cell in this photo to remove the weapon pictured below from an inmate who was using it to threaten others. The shank is made of aluminum. Being a non ferrous metal it would not..
The West Wall is the location that Tyrone Conn placed his home made ladder and then used an extension cord to lower himself down to freedom. He laid at the bottom of the wall when the Mobile Patrol drove right past him with the length of cord clearly visible still hanging from the top of..
This was the “East Yard Shack” in Collins Bay when I first started in the early eighties. It was not used in my day and sat vacant through out my entire time on the Inside.
This is One Block “A” Range just before its demolition. You can see on the right hand side of the photo historic damage from the riot in 1997 where the inmates used the locking bars off of their cells to destroy the cell block walls.
After watching the DND/CAF sexual misconduct apology today I found myself listening to examples of the exact same kind of abuse and profound neglect that I and many others experienced at the hands of the CSC. After all it was the same male dominated culture, power dynamic and the same sexualized and violent working environment..
Our employment history with the CSC was very often a breeding ground for PTSD and this was never recognized as an occupational injury by the employer in my time. Even to this day staff members have to fight a lengthy up hill battle to claim PTSD job related injuries. I believe that West Yard should..
These are the knives that were free for the taking in the dining hall in the 80s & 90s. They were carried by the inmates throughout the prison or hidden in areas where they could be deployed immediately as needed. The handle from bucket of cleaning fluid is straightened out and the..
This first one is the arm from a file cabinet honed down razor sharp on both sides and equipped with a woven cotton ice skate lace for the grip. The second was cut from a sheet of steel, honed on each side and duct tape applied to the grip. Number three is one component of..
This is an article from the Toronto Star published in 2018. It covers an investigation that I was in charge of about an abandon newborn baby. http://www.thestar.com:news:gta:2018:01:27:2005-abandoned-baby-case-in-toronto-changed-retired-detectives-life-forever.html.webloc
The “traveling bar” as it was known was a widely used cell locking mechanism installed in many Canadian Prisons. “The Wheels” were threaded onto two side by side bars that ran the length of the cellblock. These bars had misaligned holes in them that would match up when the wheel was spun allowing a vertical..