NCJ Number
149555
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: May 1994 Pages: 22-24
Date Published
May 1994
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The author, who uses a wheelchair, assesses the accessibility of Ontario's 11 Federal correctional institutions to persons in wheelchairs.
Abstract
Some of the problems noted at the institutions are failure to have a sufficient number of handicapped parking spaces, employee use of such parking spaces, curbs that impede wheelchair movement from the parking lot to the building, and the absence of ramps to facilitate entrance into the building where other visitors enter. In many cases, the author had to enter the institution through a side or back entrance after having a staff member bring the sign-in sheet to him before entering the building. Upon approaching one institution after a snowfall, the author found that although the walkway entrances had been cleared of snow, the wheelchair ramp had not. Many interview rooms were inaccessible by wheelchair, as were many restrooms. In recommending what can be done to improve access by wheelchair to federal correctional institutions, the author first suggests that management and staff sit in wheelchairs and attempt to negotiate their way around an institution for an hour or so. This would make them aware of the obstacles that a person in a wheelchair faces daily. Based on this experience, design changes should follow.