Custody

You can be held in custody before you are found guilty. This is called being remanded into pre-trial detention. You can also be held in custody as a punishment for a crime – this is called serving a custodial sentence.

Individuals of different genders are always kept separate. Adult institutions are usually considered under the binary of "male" or "female". If you are gender fluid, non-conforming, or trans and identify that to staff, you may be placed in segregation within the institution you most closely align with. Sometimes your lawyer or support crew must advoate to have you transferred to a facility that aligned with your gender - in particular if you have not had any gender-affirming surgeries or medications. Those who are gender diverse or trans (especially) can still face a lot of stigma and harassment in the criminal legal system, especially in custody.

Printable Toolkit for Prisoners

We have a free, printable toolkit for people already in prison. It is a plain-language resource in multiple accessible-formats, meant for people currently in jail or prison who can no access this website.

Go to Printable Toolkits

Racism and Ableism in Custody

Those who are Black, Brown, Indigenous, Disabled, or neurodivergent are several times more likely to end up in custody that those who are not, likely to be sentenced to longer terms of imprisonment, and less likely to receive their release on time. For example, people with an acquired brain injury (ABI) are 14x more likely to incur a serious criminal charge. They are also 12x less likely to receive a discretionary release or discharge. Approximately 50% of youth charged have a documented history of a traumatic brain injury.

Some of the other ways in which those who are racialized or disabled face discrimination in the criminal legal system (CLS) include:

Those who are racialized are more likely to receive a higher overall "risk score" while being detained in custody. This can give them less access to programming, which in turn impacts their likelihood of successful parole or release. Scores are based on things like postal codes with assumed gang involvement, or eurocentric and neurotypical understandings of body language and behaviour
A lack of institutions that provide barrier-free access, including halfway houses, meaning those who require barrier-free access must sometimes rely on other prisoners to access parts of the prison, or delayed release if beds in an accessible parole institution aren't available
Those who are racialized or disabled are sometimes subjected to dehumanizing language from correctional staff
Those who are racialized and disabled are more likely to have their behaviour seen as problematic, or be seen as an instigator, resulting in institutional charges or being put in segregation
Those with mental health issues are most likely to spend an extended period of time in segregation without consent, often for stated reasons of "safety"

Prisons Causing Disability

An often overlooked area around disability & prisons is that being remanded or sentenced to custody can not only agitate existing disabilities, but create or catalyze entirely new ones, shorten life expectancy, and result in death.

This is by-design, and happens through the mental and emotional stressors, as well as the physical conditions of a facility. Prisons are meant to warehouse and disable individuals. Below are some of the ways detention centres and prisons create or catalyze disabilities and cause death.

Poor air quality and mould can cause severe respiratory issues or infections, sometimes leading to death
Food quality can agitate or result in the development of diabetes, obesity, poor cardiovascular health, malnutrition, seere GI-complications, and poor mental health
A lack of physical exercise and outdoor time impacts physical and mental health
A lack of opportunities to develop or update skills ensures that those being release from prison are even less-equipped to navigate the world than when they entered.

Being Trans in Custody

While the Ontario Human Rights Code is supposed to guarantee the following rights to trans folks within the criminal legal system – including police and prisons – facilities and individuals do not always follow the guidelines. At times, you or others may need to advocate for your own rights. Trans people continue to face a lot of discrimination and harassment within the criminal legal system.

See our "Resources" section for writings from other Trans folks on prison.

If you are a trans youth who is arrested, you have the following rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code:

The right to self-identify your gender, regardless of what any legal documents say, and even if you were admitted under a different gender previously.
The right to be referred to using your chosen pronouns, except in rare situations where your birth name is required for legal identification.
The right to choose the gender of the person searching you, including someone of different genders searching different parts of your body.
The right to be searched in a private area, including any prosthetic devices
Any conversations about your gender identity or expression should take place in private.
The right not to have information about your gender identity or expression shared with anyone to whom it is irrelevant or who is not directly involved with you
If the facility isolates you, they must provide access to programming and social opportunities.
The right to keep personal items, including prosthetics, that are necessary for your gender expression – both while imprisoned and when being transferred
The right to individual and private access to showers and toilets

To file a complaint if these rights have been violated, you can contact the Client Conflict Resolution Unit (CCRU) at 1-866-535- 0019 from Monday to Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Other Entitlements

Indigenous people have the right to access some ceremonies such as smudging while in detention, jail, or prison. This is typically offered through the Native Liaison Officer (NILO) at each facility. People who have a disability are also entitled to accessibility.

See our “Accessibility & Culture Entitlements” section for more information.

A Special Note on New Year's Eve

If you are ever locked up on New Year’s Eve and hear or see a bunch of fireworks outside your prison walls – they’re there for you! Every year on December 31 prison abolitionists, prison rights activists, anarchists, friends, family, and people of all kind attend prisons throughout the world to set off fireworks and remind those inside the walls that they aren’t alone.

There are so many prisons it is impossible to do all of them every year – but be sure to spread the word if you’re ever inside the walls during one of these demonstrations – or (carefully) leave notes about it in books or hidden by bunks! If you bang on the walls & bed frames, others in the facility will know something is happening too – and if you bang on the windows or wave in front of them the people outside will be able to hear or see you.

Noise demos do not just happen on new years – they also sometimes happen when people who are abolitionists are arrested or put in prison to show solidarity, and remind them they are not alone. They can also happen to show solidarity with prisoners inside who are engaging in hunger strikes, or facing difficult times such as happened during COVID.

Special Courts & Diversion

Prisoner Supports