Inmates, families complain about lack of communication amid COVID outbreak at Hamilton’s Barton Street jail

Prisoner advocates are criticizing the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre for failing to communicate with inmates and families amid an ongoing COVID outbreak at the Barton Street jail.

An outbreak was declared Dec. 31. As of Wednesday, it sat at 18 confirmed cases, including 17 in inmates and one in a staff member, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant continued to surge across the province.

In this latest outbreak, rumours began swirling throughout the jail about COVID cases on the fourth floor but there was no clear communication as to what was happening, said a spokesperson for the Barton Prisoner Solidarity Project, which receives calls from inmates and families daily.

The only way prisoners knew what was happening was from hearing it from (correctional officers who were talking) and because of announcements of security changes," Cedar Hopperton said.

Families fear the worst when, often due to lockdowns, they don't hear from inmates for days.

Lack of communication, including inmates being abruptly transferred, inadequate cleaning and problems with accessing health care have been common complaints at the jail throughout the pandemic.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General, which oversees the provincial detention centre, said it is working collaboratively with Hamilton public health, which determines the threshold for declaring an outbreak.

The ministry is supporting its public health partners by testing all inmates and staff to complete contact tracing and to determine any isolation and further testing requirements for high-risk close contacts," spokesperson Andrew Morrison said.

Any affected inmates and staff are informed of any testing requirements and provided the testing results."

Staff are informed of active cases.

Public visitations are suspended during the outbreak, however inmates continue to have access to phones, Morrison said.

The ministry also has its own supply of vaccines available to eligible inmates.

There is also a COVID outbreak at the Arrell Youth Centre, which is a 16-bed detention program for males 12 to 18 years old on the east Mountain, with two staff cases.

Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com