A 42-year-old inmate who escaped from Kingston’s Collins Bay federal prison on Tuesday is now back in custody after a lengthy search by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
Joshua Kenneth Kohl, who was serving a sentence for committing second-degree murder, escaped from a minimum security unit after being found missing during a formal count, according to reports by The Canadian Press.
The OPP has charged Kohl with being unlawfully at large.
The OPP issued a warrant for Kohl’s arrest immediately after Kingston Police were contacted by the penitentiary. The OPP stated that Kohl “could pose a safety risk” and advised the public not to approach him if he is spotted but to instead contact the police.
Collins Bay Institution is located in west Kingston on Bath Road and can hold up to 750 minimum, medium, and maximum level prisoners.
The Trudeau government introduced new legislation on bail reform on Tuesday as premiers and police associations across the country push the feds to do more to address rising crime in major cities.
The legislation introduces reverse-onus bail conditions for people charged with serious violent offences involving a weapon, in cases where the person was convicted of a similar violent offence within the past five years and in cases where alleged crimes involve intimate partner violence or firearms.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre reacted to the new measures highlighting how irresponsible it is to release repeat violent offenders on the streets. He said that if he was prime minister, he would waive offenders’ rights to a bail hearing in the first place.
He also said he would bring in laws that would require repeat violent offenders who are arrested for the first time for violent crimes to remain behind bars throughout their trial.
“The same 40 people were arrested 6,000 times in a year. That’s 150 arrests per offender per year,” he said. “You don’t have a lot of criminals in Canada. It’s a very small number that do the vast majority of crime.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect the fact that the inmate has been located and is in custody.
