Special Handling Unit
The Special Handling Unit (SHU; French: Unité spéciale de détention or USD), within the centre, is Canada's highest security (supermax) prison. As of 2008, there were 90 prisoners at the SHU. In English it is nicknamed "the SHU" (pronounced 'shoe'), and in French it is the "USD".
The six-wing radial-shaped facility is surrounded by three rows of fencing, which is in turn surrounded by farms.
Inmates are always handcuffed in the presence of officers. When escorting inmates, officers are unarmed to prevent inadvertently placing a weapon in the vicinity of the prisoner. Escorting officers do carry pepper spray. Weapons and other equipment are carried by officers manning the elevated catwalk. Inmates must progress through programs in the SHU before being transferred back to the general population of other maximum security prisons; however, some inmates are considered to be too high-risk to be eligible for this and are detained in the SHU for longer periods.
Notable inmates of the Special Handling Unit
Current inmates
Men:
- Shareef Abdelhaleem (conspirator of the 2006 Ontario terrorism plot)
Former inmates
Men:
- Allan Legere (serial killer, 1991–2015; transferred to Edmonton Institution)
- Clifford Olson (serial killer, 1982–2011; died of cancer on September 30, 2011)
- Ali Dirie (terrorist, 2009–2011; died in Syrian civil war)
- Luka Magnotta (murderer; transferred to Port-Cartier Institution, QC)
- Maurice Boucher (murderer, 2002–2022; died of cancer on July 10, 2022)
Women:
- Karla Homolka (serial killer, imprisoned 1993–2005, released after 12-year sentence); she was held at the Regional Reception Centre since March 2001 after being transferred from the Joliette Institution for Women. In 2003, she was scheduled to be moved into a maximum security wing at Joliette.
See also
- ADX Florence, an equivalent prison for men run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in the United States
- Federal Medical Center, Carswell, a U.S. BOP prison which includes a unit housing women who have the highest security classifications
- Supermax prison, for an international overview of supermax prisons
References
- ^ "Regional Reception Centre." Correctional Service of Canada. Retrieved on August 6, 2016.
- ^ "Correctional Service of Canada - Publications - Let's Talk". Csc-scc.gc.ca. December 18, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
- ^ "Centre régional de réception." Correctional Service of Canada. Retrieved on August 6, 2016. See English version
- ^ Amellal, D. The Special Handling Unit: High Security, Special Expertise, Safety and Security - Inside CSC Institutions. Let's Talk, Correctional Service of Canada. Retrieved on: September 4, 2011.
- ^ "Institutional Profiles". Csc-scc.gc.ca. February 11, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
- ^ Freeze, Colin. "Canada's imprisoned bomb-plotters say their isolation does not fit the crime." The Globe and Mail. Wednesday August 31, 2011. Updated Thursday September 6, 2012. Retrieved on August 6, 2016.
- ^ "Allan Legere's transfer to lower security raises fears in Miramichi | CBC News".
- ^ Hells Angel Walter Stadnick back on the streets. The Toronto Star. Retrieved on: July 17, 2015.
- ^ "Homolka will return to Joliette prison." National Post. May 24, 2003. Retrieved on August 6, 2016. "Homolka, who has been at tie [sic] regional reception centre in the Ste. Anne des Plaines federal prison complex since March, 2001,[...]"
Further reading
- "Bienvenue à l'USD, le pénitencier des pires criminels au pays." Le Journal de Montréal. Thursday March 17, 2016.
