Correctional officers at the Southwest Detention Centre in Windsor, Ont., will be paid overtime to supervise inmates who watch Super Bowl XLIX this Sunday.

Kickoff between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots is 6:30 p.m. ET, after the inmates' normal lockup time.

"A small number of staff at the Southwest Detention Centre have agreed to work an additional hour during the event to allow the inmates to watch the game in its entirety, provided they follow the institutional rules and are well behaved this week," Brent Ross, a spokesman for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, said in an email to CBC.

The Southwest Detention Centre is a state-of-the-art, 315-bed maximum-security facility.

Allowing the inmates to watch the game is one way the ministry is working to provide an environment that focuses on rehabilitation and reintegration, Ross said.

"The minor cost associated with the extra work is inconsequential compared to the potential benefits of continued positive inmate behaviour," Ross wrote.

He said in a subsequent email that it's too early to determine the exact cost of the overtime related to the game, saying it depends on "inmate behaviour, the length of the game, staff availability and other factors."

The ministry oversees 26 institutions, Ross said, noting in his email that "all institutions across the province" will allow inmates to watch the game if they have shown good behaviour and followed the rules.

He said similar approaches are used by correctional institutions for other big sports events like the Stanley Cup.