officers, or incarcerated individuals. "
The same individual that is incarcerat-
ed one day, is standing beside us at the
check-out counter a couple of days later,”
continues Boraks. “We have to ask our-
selves as a society, and as architects,
whether it make a lot of sense to build
expensive maximum-security facilities for
every charged individual, many of whom
are found not guilty or are not judged to be
maximum security risks."
“The average length of stay in a provincial
correctional institution is less than 30 days.
Many correction officers work for over 30
years. When one thinks about it, one real-
izes that the officers are the actual ‘lifers’.
The correctional facility is the actual work-
place for the officers. Why should it be a
substandard work environment?"
Environmental psychology confirms that
designing spaces that provide natural light
and views that are acoustically comfort-
able, and where officers and the incarcer-
“We found out that we had to listen, learn, and experience the wisdom of the
north before applying those lessons to our buildings, a number of which have
won international awards.” Robert Boraks, Director
York Regional Police Headquarters
MAY 2017
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