ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador is blaming overcrowding as it plans to house female inmates at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary for men in St. John’s.
Justice Minister Andrew Parsons says it’s a temporary move to deal with a “sharp increase” of inmates at the province’s only correctional centre for women in Clarenville.
Parsons says the women’s jail, about 90 minutes northwest of St. John’s, had 10 inmates more than its capacity of 26 over the last month.
Several more women are also being held at the lockup in St. John’s.
The minister says women at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary will be held in a fully self-contained unit with access to their own outdoor recreation area.
The John Howard Society says more women are winding up behind bars as they commit crimes to support alcohol and drug addictions.
WATCH: An inside look at the closed Kingston penitentiary