After consistent increases since 2021, admissions to N.W.T. jails shot up this year

The number of inmates admitted to N.W.T. jails went from 616 last year, to 901 this year

The number of admissions to jails in the N.W.T. increased by hundreds in the past year, the most dramatic surge since those numbers began to tick up in 2021.

There were 901 jail admissions across the territory in 2025-26, compared to 616 in 2024-25, according to data from the territorial Department of Justice Corrections Service annual reports since 2021. The most recent report was tabled in the N.W.T. Legislative Assembly on Oct. 27.

There are numerous transfers out of the facilities, so admissions do not mean the jails are holding all 901. However, the numbers still highlight an increase in people going to jail, and continues an upward trend year-over-year since 2021.

The increase means the North Slave Correctional Complex in Yellowknife is operating over capacity and has been for months. As of late October, there were 163 inmates in a facility designed for 148. The territory says the cause of the increase is multifaceted and can’t be attributed to one factor.

Is federal bail reform contributing to the increase? 

The jump in the past year is the largest in the last five, but the federal bail reform only went into effect in July.

CBC News requested an interview with the N.W.T. Department of Justice, but that request wasn’t granted.

In an email, department spokesperson Ngan Trinh wrote that it’s too soon to draw any connections between the increase and the legislation.

In an earlier email to CBC News, Trinh attributed the increase to multiple factors including crime rates, court decisions, remand admissions, sentence lengths and legislative changes at both the territorial and federal levels.

Michael E. Hansen, a lawyer in Hay River, described the criminal justice system as “a very crude instrument.”

“It works very well for those who are truly bad people, who need to be isolated from society,” he said.

He said the issue is multifaceted and truly solving crime would mean addressing issues like underinvestment in education, the housing crisis and the drug crisis.

“They want to do it the lazy way, let the police take care of it and then hide them away in jail so we don’t have to worry ourselves about it,” he said.

“We need more programs and the lack of space in our jail because it is overwhelmingly full of people in pre-trial custody is a symptom … and that shows that we’re not doing it right.”

The statistics also show a low uptake of rehabilitation services in the territorial jails compared to the number of inmates.

Only 71 people were recorded to have completed a program in 2025-26.

Trinh attributed that to the fact that the vast majority of inmates are on remand, which means they’re more transient and have shorter, less predictable stays and are less likely to participate.

Increase in use of force as numbers rise

The data showed a few other notable trends, one being that there has been a consistent increase in recorded use of force by corrections staff.

In 2021-22, there were six incidents of force recorded, whereas in 2025-26, there were 30.

“A larger inmate population may be one factor that influences the number of use of force incidents; however, it is not possible to directly attribute changes in use of force incidents to inmate population levels alone,” Trinh said.

“Use of force incidents can also be affected by the risk profiles and behaviours of inmates, security concerns and other institutional circumstances.”

As for how corrections staff and inmates are being kept safe, Trinh said the staff are trained to deal with the high population. 

She said officers complete recertification training at regular intervals and that the monitors operational requirements and will implement “appropriate measures to support the safety and security of staff, inmates, and correctional facilities.”

CBC News reached out to the Union of Northern Workers to discuss the impact of the high number of inmates on corrections staff, but an interview wasn’t granted by deadline.

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: N.W.T. officials meet with Fort Smith jail staff before funding expires next year, CBC News