The Slammer: The Crisis in Canada's Prison System

Anna Leslie is an associate professor of sociology at Sir Wilfred
Grenfell College, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Based on interviews with inmates, guards, and administrators in the
Canadian Correctional Service, this book by journalist Kevin Marron
paints a bleak picture of the Canadian prison system.

Each chapter examines a particular crisis in the correctional system,
including the illicit use of drugs, overcrowding, violence, sexual
abuse, extortion, intimidation, racial disturbances, and the
mistreatment of Native and female inmates. We learn about the inactivity
of prisoners, about the lack of meaningful work or vocational training
to occupy them, and about the ever-present problem of escapes.

The book reaffirms the conclusion of the 1977 parliamentary
subcommittee report that “society has spent millions of dollars over
the years to create and maintain the proven failure of prisons.”
Incarceration has failed in its two essential purposes—correcting the
offender and providing permanent protection to society. Despite the
counterproductive effects of the prison system, and despite the expense
(in 1994, it cost nearly $80,000 to maintain one inmate in a federal
institution), many Canadians believe that the best solution to
criminality is to increase the use of imprisonment.

While the text is not informed by any particular theory, it nonetheless
makes a significant contribution to the literature on Canadian
corrections. It will be useful as a secondary text in courses on
corrections, to students in community colleges, and to general readers.