Super Bowl XLIX hasn’t even begun, but the game has already gone into overtime for one captive audience.
Staff at Windsor’s Southwest Detention Centre will work late Sunday to allow inmates to watch the NFL championship game.
“The minor cost associated with the extra work is inconsequential compared to the potential benefits of continued positive inmate behaviour,” Brent Ross, spokesman for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, said Friday.
Ross said staff will work an additional hour Sunday to allow inmates to watch the game in its entirety. Normally, inmates would be back in their cells without access to televisions.
The game is a reward for good behaviour.
“An important part of inmate rehabilitation is helping them understand the importance of taking responsibility for their actions,” Ross said. “This is one of ways we are working to ensure that we are providing an environment that focuses on rehabilitation and reintegration.”
The Ministry did not comment on how much it will cost in overtime wages, but called the cost “minor.”
ssacheli@windsorstar.com or on Twitter @WinStarSacheli
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