When an individual is charged with a crime, one of these things may happen:

• The officer may release the person with an order to appear in court
• The officer may release the person with conditions they have to abide by until their court case is completed
• The officer may hold the person in custody for a bail hearing

If you are supporting someone that has an order to appear in court:

• Take note of court dates
• Take note of any conditions they are given. Failing to comply with those conditions can result in further criminal charges.
• They may need to find a lawyer. See below for more information on legal representation

If you are supporting someone that has been held for a bail hearing:

• To learn more about the bail system check out this resource: An Overview of the Bail Process in Ontario
• LAO Brydges hotline provides quick legal advice for any Ontarian that gets detained, whether or not they qualify for legal aid. The person in custody needs to let the police officer know they would like to speak to duty counsel and the officer will call with hotline. Duty counsel will call to speak with the accused within 30 minutes.

To find out if you qualify for legal aid, check out: https://www.legalaid.on.ca/services/how-do-i-apply-for-legal-aid/

To search for a lawyer you may wish to refer to the directory of lawyers provided by the Law Society of Ontario: https://lso.ca/public-resources/finding-a-lawyer-or-paralegal/lawyer-and-paralegal-directory

The Law Society also has a referral service that can connect you with a legal representative that matches your stated needs and give you up to 30 minutes for a free verbal consultation. Any resident of Ontario is eligible, whether or not you qualify for legal aid. For more information: https://lso.ca/public-resources/finding-a-lawyer-or-paralegal/law-society-referral-service#who-can-use-the-law-society-referral-service–5

For certain matters including bail hearings, duty counsel can help. For more information see: https://www.legalaid.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/Factsheet-Duty-counsel-services.pdf

In Ontario there are provincial correctional institutions and federal correctional institutions.

Provincial correctional institutions house two main groups:

• Individuals on remand, ie people who were denied bail and are held in pre-trial detention pending their trial
• Individuals that have been sentenced to a period of less than two years.

Federal correctional institutions are where people go if they are given a sentence of two years or more.

There are different types of provincial correctional institutions in Ontario.

Correctional Centres: Typically house individuals serving sentences of 60 days to just under 2 years

• The following are Correctional Centres in Ontario:
  • Central East Correctional Centre
  • Central North Correctional Centre
  • Maplehurst Correctional Complex
  • Monteith Correctional Complex
  • Ontario Correctional Institute
  • Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre
  • Thunder Bay Correctional Centre
  • Vanier Centre for Women

Detention Centres are larger facilities serving larger areas in the Province. Detention Centres are entry points into the institutional system and house people on remand ie awaiting trial, people sentenced to short terms (less than 60 days) and people awaiting transfer to a federal or provincial correctional facility.

• The following are detention centres in Ontario:
  • Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre
  • Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre
  • Niagara Detention Centre
  • Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre
  • Quinte Detention Centre
  • South West Detention Centre
  • Toronto East Detention Centre
  • Toronto South Detention Centre

Jails are generally smaller facilities established by local counties, townships or municipalities

• The following are jails in Ontario:
  • Brockville Jail
  • Fort Frances Jail
  • North Bay Jail
  • Sarnia Jail
  • Kenora Jail
  • Stratford Jail
  • Sudbury Jail
  • Thunder Bay Jail

Treatment Centres provide specialized treatment for individuals with clearly identified problems related to: substance abuse, sexual misconduct, impulse control and anger management. They are staffed by clinical personnel employed by, or under contract to, the Ministry of the Solicitor General.

• The following are treatment centres in Ontario:
  • Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre
  • Ontario Correctional Institute
  • St Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre
  • Vanier Centre for Women

Federal Institutions in Ontario:

There are 8 institutions in Ontario; seven for men and one (Grand Valley Institution) for women. Five of the eight institutions are located in the Kingston area. Federal institutions are categorized into minimum, medium and maximum security.

The security levels differ in their monitoring of and the movement and association of incarcerated people.

The following are federal institutions in Ontario.

• Bath Institution: Male, medium security
• Collins Bay Institution: Male, mixed minimum and medium security
• Beaver Creek Institution: Male, mixed minimum and medium security
• Joyceville Institution: Male, mixed minimum and medium security
• Millhaven Institution: Male, maximum security
• Warkworth Institution: Male, medium security
• Grand Valley Institution for Women: Women, mixed minimum and medium security

The specific location of individuals incarcerated in the correctional system is considered personal information under Canada’s Privacy Act and cannot be disclosed without the person’s consent.

For individuals in federal custody, you can contact Correctional Services Canada (CSC) General Inquiries with the person’s full name and date of birth. Then CSC will confirm whether the individual is in federal custody but they cannot disclose the facility. You can write a letter to the appropriate CSC Regional Headquarters office and they will forward it to the person you are trying to reach.

Yes, you can. Money that you send to someone in a correctional institution will be added to their trust account. Incarcerated people can use money in their trust account for phone services and to buy items from the canteen.

You can send someone money to add to their trust account through cash or money order. When sending by mail, typically only money orders are accepted. Cash is typically accepted if dropped off at the institution. Some institutions have limits on the amount of money that can be deposited into an individual’s trust account. Contact the institution to inquire about specific processes and limits.

You cannot call an incarcerated person directly, they need to call out of the institution. Individuals in correctional institutions can make local, long distance or international calls to cell phones and landlines.

Access to telephones varies depending on the institution. There is a 20 minute limit on all calls made from an institution. An automatic voice message will inform the incarcerated person that their time is ending and at 20 minutes, the call automatically ends.

Incarcerated people can call collect to most landlines and cell phones. If they call you collect, you will be asked to accept the charges before having the call patched through. You will be charged per minute for collect calls you accept. Sometimes collect calls to cell phones do not go through so you may have to provide a landline number to ensure the incarcerated person can reach you.

You can put money into an incarcerated person’s trust account, which they can use to make phone calls. See sending money to someone that is incarcerated for more information.

The telephone system in institutions does not allow 3 way calls. It will automatically hang up if a 3 way call is attempted.