If My Family Member Is Placed In A Maximum Security Prison Will
They Spend Their Whole Sentence There?

No, not necessarily, inmates can move from maximum to medium to
minimum security institutions. The ultimate goal is for inmates to move
down to a minimum security institution before they are released to the
community. This way the transition from prison to the community is a
little easier.

To move to a lower security facility inmates need to display good
behaviour and follow their correctional plan.

An inmate’s security classification can also be increased. For example,
they can be moved from medium to maximum security.

Can I Talk To Someone At The Prison About My Family Member?
Yes, you can talk to the Institutional Parole Officer or Unit Manager.
They can share information about your family member with you if they
have permission from the inmate.

You can ask them to talk to you in general terms about information that is
open to the public, such as general reasons behind decisions, policies,
procedures, and so on.

How Does An Inmate Get A Bank Account?
An inmate trust fund is set up for every inmate and is made up of two
accounts, a savings account and a current use
account.

All the money that an offender gets from people
outside of the prison must be deposited into the
savings account. Please contact the institution to
find out how to do this.

An inmate can transfer up to $500 per year from
their savings account to their current account to
spend in the canteen. The inmate is not able to
transfer more than $500 per year.

What Is Lockdown?
Lockdown is when all movement in the prison is
stopped. No one is allowed in or out.

Inmates cannot make phone calls or have visits.
Lockdown occurs for many different reasons, such
as for major searches or when a serious incident has occurred.

The goal of a lockdown is to protect the safety of both inmates and
institutional staff.
You can call the institution to see if they are in lockdown.

How Does An Inmate Make A Telephone Call?
All phone calls can be monitored, except legal or
privileged conversations.

The inmate fills out an application form to get a phone
number approved.

The prison confirms that the person named in the
application wants to have contact with the inmate.

The number must be approved before they can call it.

The inmate has a limit of forty approved phone numbers.

The system does not accept cell phone numbers or 1-800/ 1-888 numbers.

The call list should follow the offender if they move locations. For
example, if they go to a new prison or move provinces.

The cost of the phone call is billed to the receiver of the call.

How Do I Send A Letter To An Inmate?
Make sure that the return address includes your name
and is on the envelope.

All inmate mail is inspected and processed by staff.
Inmates are free to send letters to you as often as they wish.

Thank you

Excellent information:thumbsup:

Thank you for all this great info

No matter what you say to them, they will twist what you said, stick it in a report that you'll never see or know about. Each time an inmate gets a new parole officer, the statement will be taken out of context and twisted anew.

It will be read by the parole board, and could play a major role in parole decisions, and even questioning during parole hearings.

You may contact them with all the good intentions in the world, but they professionally speak to inmates, families, police, etc. on a daily basis, they know what to say, and slip in questions when you least expect them.

There are excellent parole officers out there, but they are super rare, and the chances you'll have a decent one are slim.

Parole officers in the institutions, go out of their way to keep you inside-they will lie, or at least offer you hope, when they know there is none coming.

Parole officers on the street, their job is actually to keep you out.

In Corrections Canada, no matter what they say, if it isn't in writing, it never happened, period. They ARE NOT on the inmates side, at all.

I am 60 days to expiry on an 11 year 8 month sentence, started in California, then BC, then Ontario. If an inmate is doing any length of time, his parole officer will change, it has a high burnout rate. The parole supervisor will change. But the reports they left behind, are written in stone, so be very, very, wary of EVER speaking to parole, except when absolutely necessary.

I am in no way, a hardend inmate/criminal, so this response is not from anger or personal, it is what I have witnessed, over and over again.

Corrections Canada motto "We're not happy, until your not happy too"

I'm currently going through school to be a parole officer, and my motivation to choose this career was going through situations similar to what you discribed above. After seeing the many faults in the Canadian corrections system, I have become inspired to do what I can to do what is best for inmates and those who love them. Be the change that you want to see in the world. Don't loose hope, there are people in the system who doing what they can to help you. Good luck.

I took this info from a guide book i was given when i had my community assesment, its from the john howard society.

i agree with what you say though.

i reacently spoke to a parole officer and she almost seemed to talk down to me because of my relationship with an inmate. And the questions she asked all either implied that i was involved with my finances crimes ( What was your role with the car theft) or negitive toward my fiance ( do you feel that he has any kind of disabilities) and i has to ask her if she needed any more contact information for me. ( my address cell number etc)

I totally agree with Robbreid... PO's dont want inmates to be outside the pen... they go out of their ways to make sure you stay in... My man's in at the moment and his outside PO had told him that she would recommand the Parole Board (PB) that he'd be released... then, later on, she said to him that she'd make a recommendation only one week prior to him seeing the PB... and last thing he heard was that his inside PO said that his outside PO wasnt supporting him at all.... Since it's not written I told him that they're probably trying to test him out by saying that just to see if he would keep on doing what he has to do to show a good conduct or not...

Besides that, his when his outside PO had visited him at the Remand Center in Edmonton (prior to his transfer to Drumheller), she had been questionning him in such a way that shows that PO's are so used to being lied to that when an inmate tells them the truth, the PO's dont believe them anyway... it's a catch 22 no matter what the inmate does or says... PO's are brainwashed and trained to keep inmates in...

The sad part in all of that is that you have guys like my man that are kept inside for a tiny little thing... when there's hard core offenders that keep on getting out and in at repetition... where's the justice in that ???

I seriously dont think PO have all their head after working a while in that sector... and seeing how "helpful" (not!) they are... I think they should be incarcerated just to see how it feels like to be inside for a tiny thing and see others, that dont deserve it, get out... while they wait their turn in line to see if they might get out one day... knowing that there's somebody, who's suppose to be there to help them get back to normal life, and who just dont want them to get out and do everything in their power to keep them in!

Yeah there might be good PO's out... but like it was said before... they're extremely rare... and knowing that, how can you have a good opinion of PO's when they just try to sc*w with the inmate's head and future...

Sorry to say that I really dont like, nor trust, any PO's! and it's sad for me to say that coz I've always been the optimistic type... I've seen to much of that PO to know that she doesnt think with her head, expects the worst in ppl and basically doesnt care about the effect (positive/negative) that she has on somebody else's life... PO's just see their jobs as jobs... nothing else... and inmates are just a number for them... not a human being!

I really hope that if there's any PO reading this, you'll analyze yourself, your way of thinking and behaving coz you can chose to feed the wolf in you (bad side) or the sheep (good side).. it's up to you... just know that your behavior reflects on all the other PO's out there... and it has an effect on the inmates and their whole families and friends...

when you CHOSE to think/behave in such a way that makes you keep the inmate inside... you influence everybody's life to one extent or another... The ppl that love that inmate (who's a human being if you had forgotten it!!!) suffers a lot (you can say that they've made the crime and now they're paying the price... but just realize that your CHOICE makes them pay a price even bigger than what it was suppose to be!)...

the inmate's families and friends can go in depression coz they miss the inmate so much... they cry coz they miss him... sleepless nights wondering when the inmate will be back home... etc...

So like I said... you can CHOSE to keep on behaving/thinking badly... or you can make a lot of ppl happy by actually CHOSING to help the inmate go back to a normal life outside the walls...

What's it going to be?

Well we must have one of the good ones. My guy is entitled to receive a copy of the Community Assessment and all the parole recommendations - he got the entire package and I got a copy since this is his home and he will be coming home.

He's also been very helpful in answering any questions we have had. This is our first time ever dealing with this (and my last) and I am so blessed that we haven't had to experience the crap yet. Don't get me wrong...I am totally expecting it but I have been pleasantly surprised so far. (Knock wood).

There have been some not so nice CO's but most people have been extremely helpful to me - perhaps they hear the panic in my voice LOL.

Hi Missing Someone...

Im so happy that you got a good PO coz I wouldnt want you to go through that on top of what you're already going through... It's already tough enough for everybody and most PO's dont realize that we're talking about human beings... not only the inmates... also the family and friends of those inmates... Sometime it seems as if they blocked their heart away behing big walls to become insensible to the pain, distress and suffering of others...

I'm happy when I see other ppl not having to go through what we're going through here... coz the way you have it is the way it's suppose to be and if at least one person gets to have that chance of having a good PO I'm really happy and smile in my heart...

I hope your son's PO will do whatever it takes to get him out of there...

Smile and Chin up...


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Can a dangerous offender receive mail? How do you go about getting information to write to an inmate?

Hi there, anyone in prison can recieve mail, even dangerous offenders.
You need to have their name, and the name and address of the institution they are in.
There is no way (that I know of) to track an inmate if you don't know their location though.