The Legalization of Photography of Canadian Prisoners

  • Sarah Stacy

Abstract

This article documents the origins of the use of photography within federal penitentiaries in Canada. Drawing primarily on correspondence from the Department of Justice records at Library and Archives Canada, and using examples from the Kingston Penitentiary Inmate History Description Ledgers, the Canadian experience and social response is compared with contemporary developments in the United States, England, and France. Whether federal legislation may have af fected police practices at the municipal level is also discussed.

 

RÉSUMÉ
Ce texte trace les origines de l’usage de la photographie dans les pénitenciers fédéraux au Canada. En se servant principalement de la correspondance tirée du fonds du ministère de la Justice, conservé à Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, et en utilisant des exemples tirés des registres des détenus du pénitencier de Kingston (« Kingston Penitentiary Inmate History Description Ledgers »), l’expérience et la réaction sociale canadiennes sont comparées aux expériences contemporaines des États-Unis, de l’Angleterre et de la France. L ’auteure examine aussi le rôle qu’a pu jouer la législation fédérale sur les pratiques policières au niveau municipal.

Author Biography

Sarah Stacy
Sarah Stacy holds a Master ’s of Museum Studies from the University of Toronto and has been a photo archivist with Library and Archives Canada (LAC) since 2002. At present, she is a senior project of ficer in LAC’s Recordkeeping Innovations section, and Exhibitions Editor for Archivaria. She is also the Guest Editor of the Special Section on Photography within this issue.
How to Cite
Stacy, Sarah. 1. “The Legalization of Photography of Canadian Prisoners”. Archivaria 65 (1), 107-23. https://www.archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/13171.