I created this glossary to open a window into that hidden world, documenting the slang, codes, and euphemisms used inside provincial correctional centres in British Columbia.

It’s not about endorsing or condemning. It’s about creating a written record of lives and stories that are too often unseen, and offering a tool for advocates, families, researchers, and anyone who wants to better understand life inside.

📣 If you’d like to add a word to the glossary, share your perspective, or collaborate on writing, research, or policy work around incarceration, please get in touch!

Meet Harpreet: Harpreet Ahuja is a lawyer, human rights consultant, and social justice advocate driven by the conviction that systems need reimagining. Her work explores the intersection of law, policy, and lived experience—and tells the human stories behind injustice. Harpreet is based in Vancouver on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation), and publishes on her website.