| Prison Name: | Millhaven Institution |
| Location: | Millhaven, Ontario |
| Coordinates: | 44.1973°N -76.7523°W |
| Status: | Operational |
| Classification: | Maximum security |
| Capacity: | 413 |
| Opened: | 1971 |
| Managed By: | Corrections Canada |
| Warden: | Kevin Snedden |
Millhaven Institution (French: '''Établissement de Millhaven''') is a maximum security prison located in Bath, Ontario. Approximately 500 inmates are incarcerated at Millhaven.[1]
Opened in 1971, Millhaven was originally built to replace Ontario's other aging maximum security prison, Kingston Penitentiary in Kingston Ontario. A riot at Kingston Penitentiary forced Millhaven to open prematurely.[2] During the period of 1977–1984, a Special Handling Unit (SHU) operated at Millhaven, alongside its general maximum-security population.[3] A new Canada-wide Special Handling Unit was subsequently opened in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines Quebec, and the Millhaven SHU was closed.
Millhaven also housed the federal inmate intake and assessment unit for the Ontario region, the Millhaven Assessment Unit (MAU), until 2013, when the assessment unit was moved to Joyceville Institution, now Joyceville Assessment Unit (JAU), in order to facilitate the closing of Kingston Penitentiary.[4] Federal parole violators were returned to MAU from whichever Ontario region they were arrested in, to appear in front of the National Parole Board for disposition.
Millhaven is one of two identically designed maximum security institutions in Canada. The other is located at Archambault Institution, Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec.
| Prison Name: | Bath Institution |
| Location: | Bath, Ontario |
| Coordinates: | 44.1973°N -76.7523°W |
| Status: | Operational |
| Classification: | Maximum security |
| Capacity: | 340 |
| Opened: | 1972 |
| Managed By: | Corrections Canada |
| Warden: | Scott Thompson |
Also located on same property is Bath Institution, a medium security facility located along the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1972, it houses 340 inmates.[5]
Millhaven consists of three main living units, a former segregation unit a hospital wing, and the Ontario region's Regional Treatment Centre (RTC). There are approximately 120 men per unit. Units have two levels. Ranges are double-sided and have hydraulically locking metal doors (See video in "External Links" section), housing two inmates per cell. The ranges/cells are designated by alphanumeric code (i.e. B1, H2 etc.).
Main living units are designated by Alpha codes:
A Unit = A Unit was a Federal Intake and Assessment Unit – Ontario region until 2013 (MAU) (ranges B, C, & D)[6]
E Unit = E Unit was a Federal Intake and Assessment Unit – Ontario region until 2013 (MAU) (and institutional workers) (ranges F, G, & H)[7]
I Unit = Administrative Segregation/Special Needs
J Unit = Maximum Security Unit (MSU) (ranges K, L, & M)[8]
N Area = Main intersection and security control hub.
MAU (Millhaven Assessment Unit) formerly housed inmates recently sentenced to federal time, in the Ontario region. They were assessed and placed in other prisons according to security needs. This responsibility now belongs to Joyceville Assessment Unit.[9] MAU is classified as integrated (housing convicts serving time on all types of charges).
MSU (J unit) houses habitually violent offenders. Many inmates with life sentences are also housed in MSU. It was considered a "gladiator school", and convicts who serve time there were revered in the criminal subculture.[10]
On September 30, 2013 Kingston Penitentiary was closed. Many maximum security inmates housed there were transferred to Millhaven. A new 96 bed facility was constructed within the Millhaven compound, to house inmates from the Kingston Pen closure.[11]
The perimeter is surrounded by a double 9.1-metre (30-foot) razor fence, and has observation towers at the corners.
A 1.2-metre (4-foot) "warning fence" inside the perimeter of the exercise yard acts as a boundary that inmates cannot cross without deadly force being used. Armed patrol vehicles with Colt Canada C8 rifles and parabolic microphones are on guard at all times. There are motion sensors in the outlying property,[12] and multiple CCTV units throughout.[13]
Visitors are subject to personal and vehicle search once on CSC property, and an ION scanner is used upon entry to detect drugs or other compounds on clothing or personal objects. The visiting area is equipped with CCTV, and listening devices are embedded in each table.[14]
Inmates in the MAU (intake - A and E units) are allowed only screened visits, behind glass.
Over the years, the institution has seen its share of violence. J unit is considered one of the most dangerous places in Canada's prison system.[15]