Justice department going through applications for jail positions

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice says they are going through the applications of those who have applied for new positions at the correctional facility in Yarmouth.

The department is hiring more guards, kitchen workers and other staff to address the increase in capacity that will be occurring at the Southwest Nova Correctional Facility on Forest Street.

Some of the new staff has already been hired.

The department intends to double bunk inmates at the Yarmouth jail to help ease overcrowding at other adult correctional facilities in the province.

“It’s not possible to say how many people applied…but definitely there was a lot of interest,” says department spokesperson Sherri Aikenhead.

“The date has passed and right now they’ll be looking at the applications,” she adds. “The department is very eager to move on that and we’ll have the people in place as soon as possible.”

The department is adding an additional $1 million to the Yarmouth facility’s budget to cover the costs associated with doubling the inmate population at the jail.