Hamilton

Inmate back in custody after being mistakenly let out of Hamilton jail: police

Hamilton police say an inmate mistakenly released from the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre earlier this month is back in custody. 

Police said Shawn Delaney had been let out on March 3 due to 'an administrative error'

A jail
An inmate at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre was let out earlier this month after 'an administrative error.' (Dan Taekema/CBC)

Hamilton police say an inmate mistakenly released from the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre earlier this month is back in custody. 

"Shawn Delaney has been located... Thank you to the members of the public for their assistance," police said on Twitter early Tuesday afternoon. 

On March 9, police said in a media release that Delaney, 45, was let out on March 3 due to "an administrative error."

The service said it learned about the release on March 7. 

Const. Indy Bharaj told CBC Hamilton last week that police worked on "exhausting all leads" before alerting the public.

Delaney has been convicted of both violent and non-violent crimes, Bharaj said, but didn't specify what crimes led to his conviction.

It's unclear why police didn't find out about the release sooner.

Andrew Morrison, a spokesperson with the Ministry of the Solicitor General, previously said the province was working with police to find Delaney. He also said the ministry conducts an internal investigation of all improper releases to determine what caused the release, and how to prevent future improper releases.

With files from Bobby Hristova