So you’ve always wanted to go to a prison?

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           Wanted to see what it was like?  Well let me tell you this- it’s nothing like those t.v. shows make it seem like it is.  Toss out those misconceptions that shows like “Beyond Scared Straight”, “Law & Order”, and others have showed you what prison should be like.  Going to the prisons in Kingston, you’ll immediately pick up on the differences between maximum security prisons like Millhaven and medium security prisons like Collins Bay.
            Still want to visit?  Most students that go on this trip end up visiting 2 prisons (1 maximum security and 1 medium security).  Last year, the students visited Millhaven, Collins Bay, and Bath Institution.  The students are in groups of 12 and are led by a Warden through the prisons.  The students go throughout the prisons stopping and talking to different people that work there to get a better idea of the inner workings of the system.  The students learn about the different procedures, the challenges and the types of things that staff encounter and deal with on a day to day basis.  All students that experience both the maximum and medium security prisons pick up on the different vibes between the two.  They usually find that maximum security is far more rigorous, more militaristic in the way that things are run, and has a ‘darker’ vibe to it than medium security.  Some will even say that maximum security prisons have an industrial feel to them.  Those who go to the medium security prisons will find that they are a bit more lenient (prisoners can actually walk around, and some will talk to you), there isn’t as much rigidity and even the prison has brighter colours on the walls.  Students will see that there are various programs that the prisoners attend to such as going to school as well as helping with the preparation of various meals.  Year after year students continue to enjoy this trip and are still stricken by the differences that exist between the maximum and medium institutions.
            Overall, students that go on this trip get an experience that is like no other.  They are able to go into some of Canada’s most notorious prisons, ask questions, and get a guided tour that most people are unable to get access to.  The students are informed through discussion the various ways one can start working in the corrections field, the types of training that one has to complete as well as a day to day look at how the prisons work.  It’s undoubtedly a memory that students remember and reflect upon for a long time.