The Regional Reception Centre (french: link=no, Centre régional de réceptionCentre régional de réception
"

Correctional Service of Canada The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC; french: Service correctionnel du Canada), also known as Correctional Service Canada or Corrections Canada, is the Canadian federal government agency responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of ...

. Retrieved on August 6, 2016
See English version
/ref>) is a Canadian federal prison for men located with Archambault Institution at the

(CSC) complex at

Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, 40 km northwest of the city of Montreal in the Thérèse-De Blainville Regional County Municipality, in the region of Laurentides. Its population was 14,990 during the census ...

, a short distance from Mirabel International Airport. The Special Handling Unit (SHU; french: link=no, Unité spéciale de détention or USD), within the centre, is Canada's highest security ( supermax) prison. As of 2008, there were 90 prisoners at the SHU. In English it is nicknamed "the SHU" (pronounced 'shoe'), and in French it is the "USD". The six-wing radial-shaped facility is surrounded by three rows of fencing, which is in turn surrounded by farms. Inmates are always handcuffed in the presence of officers. When escorting inmates, officers are unarmed to prevent inadvertently placing a weapon in the vicinity of the prisoner. Escorting officers do carry

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, cro ...

. Weapons and other equipment are carried by officers manning the elevated

catwalk A fashion show ( French ''défilé de mode'') is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and F ...

. Inmates must progress through programs in the SHU before being transferred back to the general population of other maximum security prisons; however, some inmates are considered to be too high-risk to be eligible for this and are detained in the SHU for longer periods.

Notable inmates of the Special Handling Unit

Current inmates

Men: * Shareef Abdelhaleem (conspirator of the

2006 Ontario terrorism plot The 2006 Ontario terrorism case refers to the plotting of a series of attacks against targets in Southern Ontario, Canada, and the June 2, 2006 counter-terrorism raids in and around the Greater Toronto Area that resulted in the arrest of 14 adul ...

)

Former inmates

Men: * Allan Legere (serial killer, 1991–2015; transferred to Edmonton Institution) *

Guy Paul Morin Guy Paul Morin is a Canadian who was wrongly convicted of the October 1984 rape and murder of his nine-year-old next-door neighbour, Christine Jessop of Queensville, north of Toronto, Ontario. DNA testing led to a subsequent overturning of ...

(murder, 1992–1995; exonerated and released) * Clifford Olson (serial killer, 1982–2011; died of cancer on September 30, 2011) * Ali Dirie (terrorism, 2009–2011; died in Syrian civil war) *

Luka Magnotta In May 2012, Jun Lin (December 30, 1978 – May 24/25, 2012), a university student, was fatally stabbed and dismembered in Montreal, Canada, by Luka Rocco Magnotta, who then mailed Lin's hands and feet to elementary schools and federal political ...

(murder; transferred to Port-Cartier Institution, QC) *

Maurice Boucher Maurice Boucher (21 June 1953 – 10 July 2022) was a Canadian gangster, convicted murderer, reputed drug trafficker, and outlaw biker—once president of the Hells Angels' Quebec Nomads chapter. Boucher led Montreal's Hells Angels against the ...

(murder, 2002–2022; died of cancer on July 10, 2022) Women: *

Karla Homolka Karla Leanne Homolka (born May 4, 1970), also known as Karla Leanne Teale, Leanne Teale, and Leanne Bordelais, is a Canadian serial killer who acted as an accomplice to her husband, Paul Bernardo, taking active part in the actual rapes and murd ...

(serial killer, imprisoned 1993–2005, released after 12-year sentence); she was held at the Regional Reception Centre since March 2001 after being transferred from the Joliette Institution for Women. In 2003, she was scheduled to be moved into a maximum security wing at Joliette.Homolka will return to Joliette prison
" ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with M ...

''. May 24, 2003. Retrieved on August 6, 2016. "Homolka, who has been at tie regional reception centre in the Ste. Anne des Plaines federal prison complex since March, 2001, ..

References

External links

Corrections Canada profileCorrections Canada profile
{{in lang, fr
Justice Behind the Walls (about SHU)The Future of Special Handling Units
Correctional Service of Canada institutions Prisons in Quebec Buildings and structures in Laurentides

Notable inmates of the Special Handling Unit

Current inmates

Former inmates

See also

References

Further reading

External links