Kent Institution
Encyclopedia
Kent Institution is a Correctional Service of Canada
(CSC) facility located in Kent, British Columbia
. Opened in 1979, Kent is the only maximum security federal penitentiary in the CSC's Pacific region, which includes the province of British Columbia and the Yukon
territory. The majority of prisoners at the facility are sentenced in other provinces. Educational programs, as well as socialization and employment, play a significant role at the institution. The facility employs over 300 people. The capacity (number of inmates) is 298.
May 1999 – Eighty-four prisoners rioted
and barricaded themselves in the gym before the ERT could be called in to defuse the situation.
June 2003 – One prisoner was stabbed to death while prisoners in three units rioted, setting fires and barricading doors until the ERT responded and locked down the institution.
January 5, 2004 - A 19-year-old prisoner was stabbed twice in the abdomen.
April 6, 2004 - A prisoner was stabbed.
May 9, 2004 - A prisoner was stabbed while inside his cell.
May 18, 2004 - A prisoner was stabbed numerous times.
August 20, 2004 - A prisoner was stabbed.
November 2008 – One prisoner, Andrew Robert Craig, was stabbed to death in the institutions gymnasium. Four prisoners have since been charged with first degree murder, which indicates the police have evidence that the crime was premeditated.
March 18, 2009 - A prisoner commits suicide.
January 8 to January 18, 2010 – Staff used dangerous and unauthorized force against prisoners. Officers pointed loaded firearms at prisoners who were handcuffed behind their backs. Strip searches were done at gunpoint, in the open and in full view of other prisoners and female jail guards. Many of the prisoners claim they felt as if they were sexually assaulted.
January 28, 2010 - Two assaults against officers at Kent Institution. A warning shot was fired.
March 19, 2010 - A prisoner was stabbed in the gymnasium. Warning shots were fired by staff.
March 27, 2011 - A prisoner was stabbed in the weight training area of the gymnasium.
April 16, 2010 - Officers seize 19 grams of heroin.
May 20, 2011 - A prisoner was stabbed.
August 4, 2010 - A prisoner was stabbed on a living unit. Warning shots were fired by officers.
November 14, 2010 - A prisoner was stabbed in the gymnasium.
July 13, 2011 - A prisoner was found dead in his cell.
Correctional Service of Canada
The Correctional Service of Canada , or CSC, is the Canadian federal government agency responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of convicted criminal offenders sentenced to two years or more...
(CSC) facility located in Kent, British Columbia
Kent, British Columbia
The District of Kent is a district municipality located east of Vancouver, British Columbia. Part of the Fraser Valley Regional District, Kent consists of several communities, the largest and most well-known being Agassiz, the only town in the municipality, Harrison Mills, Kilby, Mount Woodside,...
. Opened in 1979, Kent is the only maximum security federal penitentiary in the CSC's Pacific region, which includes the province of British Columbia and the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
territory. The majority of prisoners at the facility are sentenced in other provinces. Educational programs, as well as socialization and employment, play a significant role at the institution. The facility employs over 300 people. The capacity (number of inmates) is 298.
Major Incidents
June 19, 1990 – Two prisoners, Robert Ford and David Thomas, escape when a hijacked helicopter lands in the courtyard. Correctional Officer R. KIRBY was shot during the incident and survived.May 1999 – Eighty-four prisoners rioted
Prison riot
A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners in attempt to force change or express a grievance....
and barricaded themselves in the gym before the ERT could be called in to defuse the situation.
June 2003 – One prisoner was stabbed to death while prisoners in three units rioted, setting fires and barricading doors until the ERT responded and locked down the institution.
January 5, 2004 - A 19-year-old prisoner was stabbed twice in the abdomen.
April 6, 2004 - A prisoner was stabbed.
May 9, 2004 - A prisoner was stabbed while inside his cell.
May 18, 2004 - A prisoner was stabbed numerous times.
August 20, 2004 - A prisoner was stabbed.
November 2008 – One prisoner, Andrew Robert Craig, was stabbed to death in the institutions gymnasium. Four prisoners have since been charged with first degree murder, which indicates the police have evidence that the crime was premeditated.
March 18, 2009 - A prisoner commits suicide.
January 8 to January 18, 2010 – Staff used dangerous and unauthorized force against prisoners. Officers pointed loaded firearms at prisoners who were handcuffed behind their backs. Strip searches were done at gunpoint, in the open and in full view of other prisoners and female jail guards. Many of the prisoners claim they felt as if they were sexually assaulted.
January 28, 2010 - Two assaults against officers at Kent Institution. A warning shot was fired.
March 19, 2010 - A prisoner was stabbed in the gymnasium. Warning shots were fired by staff.
March 27, 2011 - A prisoner was stabbed in the weight training area of the gymnasium.
April 16, 2010 - Officers seize 19 grams of heroin.
May 20, 2011 - A prisoner was stabbed.
August 4, 2010 - A prisoner was stabbed on a living unit. Warning shots were fired by officers.
November 14, 2010 - A prisoner was stabbed in the gymnasium.
July 13, 2011 - A prisoner was found dead in his cell.
Notable inmates, past and present
- William Faulder "Fats" Robertson
- Terry DriverTerry DriverTerry Driver, aka the Abbotsford killer is a convicted Canadian murderer who attacked two teenage girls with a baseball bat, killed one, then taunted police with letters and phone calls....
- Stephen ReidStephen Reid (writer)Stephen Reid is a Canadian writer, who has also been convicted twice of bank robbery.Born in Massey, Ontario, Reid began writing in 1984 while serving a 21-year prison sentence at the Kent Institution in Agassiz, British Columbia. During his sentence, he submitted a manuscript to Susan Musgrave,...
- Robert PicktonRobert PicktonRobert William "Willie" Pickton of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada is a former pig farmer and serial killer convicted of the second-degree murders of six women. He is also charged in the deaths of an additional twenty women, many of them prostitutes and drug users from Vancouver's...
- Jamie Bacon