Province tops up jails budget with another $12 million

REGINA The cost of justice in Saskatchewan continues to rise, with the province approving late last year an additional $12 million in funding.

Much of that money — $7.3 million of it — is due to the increased number of inmates in the province’s jails, resulting in the need for more spaces typically used for classrooms or programming to be converted into living spaces.

In March, the province budgeted for 1,679 inmates, but since then the number has hit 2,026. Capacity in the province’s jails has ranged from 89 per cent to 103 per cent.

About $2.6 million is needed for additional staff, with another $2.1 million needed for training.

Drew Wilby, spokesman with the Ministry of Justice, says, “In order to accommodate the need for more staff, we’ve relied heavily on overtime.”

Safety of everyone involved inside a correctional facility is a priority of the province, according to Wilby, meaning there is a need to pay the overtime when needed.

Justice is regularly one of the most costly ministries when it comes to overtime. Overtime hours filed from November 2015 to November 2016 totalled $17.7 million, which is more than double the amount paid to employees in any other government ministry. ( Highways and Infrastructure was the second highest total, paying out $8.1 million).

NDP Leader and justice critic Nicole Sarauer says high overtime costs are a symptom of a larger problem within Justice, “which is our increased number of inmates on remand being held in jail and being held in jail for longer.”

The province is piloting programs to reduce the number of inmates on remand, like trying to have more inmates attend court via video or on weekends. The province is expecting about a 20-per-cent increase in the number of inmate appearances on video than the year prior.

But Sarauer says the inmate numbers are still high because of cuts made by the Saskatchewan Party government, pointing to overworked and understaffed Crown prosecutors and less money for legal aid.

“When the Sask. Party makes these cuts, they’re actually costing us more and we’re seeing that in Justice,” she said, noting the NDP does not have an issue with money being spent in jails, but that it could be spent more wisely.

Wilby says the province is looking at hiring more full-time staff where required to address some of the issues and says that, while that would increase the cost of full-time employment, it would save the taxpayer in doing so because fewer hours of overtime would be filed.

Sarauer referenced recent Sask. Party cost-saving initiatives as another reason for needing additional funding now, saying “a part of the problem is the hiring freeze, absolutely.”