Starting in 2016 Ontario began a $9.5 mil rollout of body scanners to "keep drugs out" of jail. This did not "keep drugs out" (nothing will) & unlike in other regions this did not result in a reduction in strip-searching on admission- but it did have unintended consequences. Recent coverage of Jail ODs has asked "why didn't the scanner detect the drugs?" Stepping back, these ODs from burst dope bags inside ppl could easily happen in jail BEFORE ppl walk thru the scanner. Criminalization of PWUD is the root cause of these deaths not misread scanners.

Check out our newest contribution to CARMS: "A Just Transition: Moving Away From Prison Construction in Canada" written with @Souabouomar & @JustinPicheh. TLDR: Building new prisons "closer to home" isnt the answer to poor conditions & prisoner isolation. carfms.org/introducing-de… Canada is building new facilities to incarcerate people. Policy-makers at all levels should push back against this costly, ill-advised, trend. Instead, they should redirect funding to collaborative transformative justice practices that strengthen local communities.