Aerial view of the provincial detention center in Saint-Jérôme, Que. where two inmates escaped by helicopter with the help of accomplices, Sunday, March 17, 2013. (MAXIME LANDRY /QMI AGENCY)
MONTREAL — In the wake of a Hollywood-style helicopter jailbreak, QMI Agency has uncovered that more than half of Quebec's jails are overpopulated and the number of jail riots in the province doubled between 2011 and 2012.
According to statistics received through an access to information request, 10 out of 19 provincially administered jails are overpopulated by an average of 8%.
That list includes the Saint-Jerome detention centre, where two inmates made their failed escape Sunday.
The provincially administered jail is over-capacity by 71 inmates.
Saint-Jerome also made headlines in February after a brief riot.
Quebec's most crowded jail is Riviere-des-Prairies, in north Montreal, which was built to house 542 inmates but at the end of February contained 639.
The statistics provided by the province's public security ministry also revealed there were four jailhouse riots in 2011-2012. There were two in 2010-2011, and a total of nine since 2008.
