Female inmates at Tanguay detention centre to be transferred to co-ed jail

Inmates at Quebec's largest women'sjail will soon be moving to a new home, one that holds both male and female inmates.

TheTanguay detention centreinAhuntsic, which holds 80 per cent of Quebec's female detainees,is nolonger suitable for daily operations, the province's public security ministrysaid in a statement.

The jail is 50 years old.

The inmates will betransferred to theLeclercdetention centrein Laval, which will becomea mixed-population facility next year.

Corrections officials say the rising number of female inmates is one of the big reasons behind the move.

"Over a five year period, there has been an 11 to 12 per centincrease in detention rates for men. For women, that increase is 24 per cent. It's a trend, and we don't see that trend ending right now," saidMarcLyrette, deputy director of thecorrectionalsystem.

TheLeclercdetention centrewill be modified to createseparatemale and female wings. It will hold248 women and84 men afterrenovations.

The men will never come into contact with the women,Lyrettesaid.

Manymale inmates will be transferredto other provincial detention centres across Quebec.

Aging facility a growing problem

Lyrette said the Tanguaydetention centre is also showing its age.

"Maintenance has been weak though the years. That's why we have water-infiltration problems in the basement.It's quite inadequate right now," he said.

This will be the second mixed-gender jail in Quebec. The Quebec City detention centrealso has separate wings formenand women.

The future of the Tanguayjail building has not yet been decided, The ministry said it's analyzing how much work it would take to modernize the facility.

The Tanguay jailhoused 25 male inmates for a period in 2010, as a temporary solution to overcrowding in Quebec'smens' prisons.

Tanguay jail in numbers

1964:Year of construction
220:Inmate capacity
248:Number of inmates
125:Number of employees
100:Number of peace officers
5: Number of job losses

Leclercjail in numbers

60s:Period ofconstruction
250:Number of spots to be set aside for women
84:Number of spots for men
700:Number of extra spots if necessary
2014:Year thatQuebec acquired the building from the federal government