Custom Container : Are Containers The Solution For Prison Overcrowding in the North?
Custom container development for prisons from shipping containers is nothing new for our friends across the pond in Australia. It continues to gain reputability based on the ease of transport, ease of new deployment and ease of on-site setup versus traditional construction methods.
At Modcan, we have asked ourselves, is there a future for this type of system in Canada? We feel the answer is yes, with some modifications and conditions (insulation!) of course. Based on the requirements for inmates in Canada, it’s likely that modular prisons will gain more traction before the use of shipping container incarceration. Although not widely publicized, a 32 bed prison in Barrie, Ontario was built using modular techniques. The builder, RCF, has built over a thousand beds across North America so to say the technology is available is an understatement. The question begs to differ, why are there not more of them across the country with our current under supply of quality prisons?
Looking at the market as a whole, we feel there is a belief that modular systems are not secure enough to house inmates. With a reputable and quality builder using steel and concrete, we feel nothing could be further from the truth!
We continue to push the boundaries with shipping containers and their modifications. With the short construction period in Canada’s North, we feel it’s only a matter of time before modular and containerized prisons become the norm. In some of the most remote locations in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, standard construction methods no longer make sense based on the cost and accessibility to skilled workers. By standardizing a design, it makes the most sense to have modules built in a factory controlled environment with the ability to deliver them to communities as required. Seems like a perfect solution to an ever increasing problem in our opinion.
To find out more about the container prison concept in Australia, visit the following link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-09/more-shipping-container-cells-for-victorian-prisons/5376832
