The John Howard Society says its been watching overcrowding at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary for quite some time.

The provincial government last week confirmed that some two dozen inmates are currently being housed in the gym because there is no other space available to keep them.

Melissa Noseworthy of the John Howard Society says HMP was built to house 170 to 180 inmates, but over the last few years it’s seen an average of 230 to 250 inmates at various times.

She says there are 23 inmates sleeping in the gym.

“That’s been going on for quite some time” says Noseworthy. “I wouldn’t say it’s been consistently going on, but over a year we’ve been looking at housing residents in the gym.”

She says that affects “a lot of things, but even Christmas before last we got reports that there was residents within the gym then.”

She says that puts additional strain on officers and staffing needs, with the gym now considered an additional range that needs to be staffed appropriately. She says a greater number of inmates also means a greater number of trips outside the Pen which requires more staffing.

That’s “50 to 70 more people that need to be supervised, that need health care…they need to be transported outside the prison, that have dental needs that may need to go outside the prison, that have court appearances that may need to be transported.”

“And what you need to consider when a transport happens, that means that correctional officers leave the prison ” and that says Noseworthy means fewer officers in the prison.