Edmonton Institution

source:Correctional Service Canada. The reproduction is not represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor as having been made, in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Correctional Service of Canada

Edmonton Institution

Riots

10 February 2004

A riot causing over $150,000 damage ensued on the weekend, where 19 inmates used handmade weapons to smash the observation windows and overturn furniture that they later used to destroy the unit. The riot began after inmate Raymond Troy Jacobson allegedly tried to gain entry into the prison's E Block without permission, and then swore and took a swing at a nearby prison official before knocking the guard to the ground and "punching and kicking him for several minutes." Jacobson was sentenced to an additional two years in prison (10 March 2004 Edmonton Journal). The February riot stimulated several recommendations on improving safety conditions within the prison, including fibreglass meal trays. The existing meal trays are reportedly melt down by prisoners and fashioned into knives.

13 November 2001

Between 40 and 50 inmates began ariot in the institution's gymnasium, stabbing and beating nine inmates who had to be later hospitalized. Refusing orders to return to their cells, they decided to damage the gym area and set several bleachers on fire in the recreation yard. Within an hour, the institution's Emergency Response Team had gained control of the situation. An investigation launched by the Edmonton Police Service (13 November 2001 Calgary Herald).

24 January 1986

What began on a Wednesday night as a "quiet disturbance," where 160 prisoners in the recreation area were protesting the solitary confinement of a fellow inmate, escalated into a full riot, where inmates set fire to the admission area, broke several windows, broke into the pharmacy, and overdosed on drugs. Police and firefighters managed to break up the riot 5 hours after it began. There were no weapons involved, and no escapes attempted. 10 of the 20 overdosed inmates were sent to hospital (24 January 1986 The Globe and Mail).

27 August 2003

A very brief riot erupted early Tuesday morning after a prisoner was taken to a segregation unit for attacking a guard. Several windows and lights were broken, but most of the damage was suffered in one unit only, housing 24 inmates. The prison went into lockdown mode, and an investigation was launched. However, because inmates threw wet paper over the security cameras, indentification was near impossible (27 August 2003 The Canadian Press).

31 August 1998

Not two days after an inmate had stabbed another inmate in the same cellblock, inmates started fires and smashed windows, sinks and toilets after attacking a guard. The prison went into lockdown, confining inmates to their cells for most of the day. The cause of the incident was unknown (31 August 1998 The Globe and Mail).

Escapes

13 March 1982

Harvey Andres, considered one of Canada's most dangerous murderers at the time, and four other inmates attempted to scale Edmonton Institution's perimeter wall during a snowstorm. Three of the four didn't make it over, one getting shot in the leg by a prison guard. Andres, however, cut through the fence and escaped on foot, with a handgun in his possession. Andres was serving a life sentence for sexually assaulting and murdering a BC woman. He had previously escaped from Edmonton Institution just six weeks prior, but was recaptured after a police shootout in Calgary.

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