SPRINGHILL, Nova Scotia – Violence, contraband, drone sightings and the number of weapons seized are on the rise in prisons managed by Correctional Service Canada (CSC), while too little is being done to ensure the safety of correctional officers, according to Rene Howe, regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, whose comments — reported by CTV (here) — come less than a month after a serious incident at Springhill Institution in Nova Scotia, where five officers were injured during an altercation with an armed inmate.
“Two of them were stabbed. One had his ear half bitten off,” Howe told CTV. “We also had reports that activities like this were going to happen, and it seems like it’s going on deaf ears with our management side.”
The severity of the situation is reflected in the numbers: since the beginning of the year, across five federal correctional institutions in the Atlantic region, there have been 31 assaults on staff, 79 threats against personnel, and 68 inmate-on-inmate assaults. In addition, 337 weapons have been seized, 65 cellphones confiscated, and 20 drones spotted.
“Our staff are seeing more violence than we ever have before. It’s escalating,” Howe said. “I don’t think that this is a regional issue anymore, I don’t think it’s a local issue. I think this is a national issue.”
According to CSC, the growing prison population and increasingly complex inmate profiles, often involving substance use and behavioural challenges, are placing significant pressure on institutions.
“I’m pretty upset knowing that officers that I represent are having to go through this on a daily basis. This is unacceptable,” Howe added.
The federal government’s spring economic update includes new funding to counter drone activity (used to smuggle weapons, drugs and cellphones) and strengthen prison security. However, Howe says more substantial action is needed.
In the pic above, the Springhill Institution (photo from the website of the Office of the Correctional Investigator)
