LOCKED UP AND ALONE

Inmates in Saskatchewan jails spent an average of 38.6 days in solitary confinement, according to the province. Advocates are calling for an end to long stays in solitary. Is it time to rethink its use?

The average stay in solitary confinement for an inmate in 1999 at the Saskatoon jail: 17.5 days. The average stay during a three-month period 15 years later: 37 days.

The increased use in jails not only in Saskatoon but across the province, revealed in a Ministry of Justice snapshot of data, is being strongly criticized by the head of the John Howard Society of Saskatchewan.

“I’m concerned that even after the recommendations from the Ashley Smith inquiry, back in 2012, which these numbers are taken after, the recommendations that were put forward at that time haven’t been followed,” said Greg Fleet, chief executive of the John Howard Society of Saskatchewan.

Smith, 19, died in segregation from self-strangulation in 2007 at Grand Valley Institution in Kitchener, Ont. Following a coroner’s inquest into Smith’s death, a jury issued 104 recommendations to be posted in all institutions operated by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC).

The recommendations included abolishing indefinite solitary confinement and restriction of its use to 15 consecutive days, with a mandatory period of five consecutive days outside of segregation after any period of segregation or seclusion.

In a three-month period, from Sept. 1-Nov. 30, 2014, the Saskatoon Correctional Centre held 158 inmates in solitary confinement for an average duration of 37 days.

The province tracked the use of solitary confinement in three other provincial correctional institutions from Jan. 1, 2015 to March 31, 2015.

According to Ministry of Justice statistics released to the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix through a freedom of information request, 127 inmates at the Regina jail were held in solitary confinement for an average duration of 46.7 days. At the Prince Albert jail, 113 inmates were held in solitary confinement during this period, for an average duration of 46.6 days. At Pine Grove Correctional Centre in Prince Albert, which houses women, 60 inmates were held in solitary confinement during the three-month time frame, for an average duration of 3.5 days.

Provincial jails are not operated by the CSC, which oversees federal penitentiaries and institutions.

“We’ve looked at the Ashley Smith recommendations in terms of how they may apply to the provincial system, and as we continue to review our procedures, our policies and our processes, you know, we will definitely consider that going forward,” said Drew Wilby, a spokesman for the provincial Ministry of Justice.

The province does not compile overall aggregate data, which makes tracking usage of solitary confinement difficult. Wilby said that may change with the implementation of the Criminal Justice Information Management System (CJIMS), which is expected to give the ministry more power in gathering data.

USE OF SEGREGATION

What defines solitary confinement, or segregation, is the inmate’s removal from the general population and restrictions on freedoms. This could mean anything from limiting the personal effects inmates are allowed to have in their cells, as well as access to television, time outdoors or exercise time.

In the provincial corrections system, segregation falls into two categories: administrative and disciplinary.

Administrative segregation is used when staff have “reasonable grounds” to believe there is a threat to the inmate’s safety, the inmate has acted in a way that puts the safety of staff or other inmates at risk, or the integrity of an ongoing investigation is at risk, Wilby said.

Disciplinary segregation is used when the inmate has committed an act deemed serious enough to warrant a term in solitary confinement.

Wilby says what is important is that the inmate is able to appeal the decision under the Correctional Services Act of 2012. The decision to place an inmate in solitary confinement is made by corrections staff, and a segregation panel reviews it.

Wilby said the legislation has strengthened inmates’ ability to appeal such decisions.

“Any of these decisions to place an inmate into segregation are taken very seriously, and as well, any appeal is taken very seriously as well and is looked at to make sure the right decisions are being made,” he said.

Fleet said segregation plays a limited role in corrections — to separate prisoners for short durations in order to dissipate an immediate threat of conflict or violence.

“We need to make sure that the use of any segregation is done as a last resort and it’s not done to manage overcrowded prison populations,” he said.

“We know there is a very high number of people on remand and causing increasing pressures on the provincial institutions, and when we have segregation being relied upon to manage (the) prison population or as an overflow option, that’s obviously a symptom of a larger problem, which is that overcrowding and high remand rates.”

The CSC needs to do more research and provincial Ministry of Justice needs to be mindful of information that has been brought forward from such things as the recommendations that came out of the Smith inquest, he said.

“At least use those as guidelines as a path forward ... segregation in and of itself can’t be part of a prison population management tool.”

Wilby said the ministry has spaces within its facilities to accommodate the inmates.

“In terms of segregation space being used for that, I’m not aware of that at this time,” he said.

We need to make sure that the use of any segregation is done as a last resort and it’s not done to manage overcrowded prison populations.

Kim Pate, executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, which advocates on behalf of female inmates, said any use of segregation should be questioned. To her, the Saskatchewan numbers seem “very high,” she said.

“It seems as though they’re using the segregation areas as ways to manage populations.”

Segregation can be incredibly stressful and create mental health issues, she added.

Wilby said the ministry’s primary consideration at any facility is the safety and security of staff, inmates and members of the public who may be at the institution.

“Segregation is largely used to ensure that the facility is safe and secure from the behaviour of an inmate at a given time,” he said.

Pate noted the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture has said any solitary confinement longer than 15 days constitutes torture. Others have called the use of segregation for people with mental illness cruel and unusual punishment, Pate added.

“So, the fact that there’s such reliance on isolation or segregation should be a concern for all of us, because these are individuals, some of whom haven’t been found guilty yet, who are being held in detention, and then being released into the community.”