Okanagan prison blues

Six or seven years ago, the Okanagan Valley was promised an endless number of benefits for hosting a jail in the South Okanagan.

It was discussed in public forums, letters to the editor, petitions, media coverage, and eventually a public opinion poll, in which Penticton residents voted by a two-to-one margin not to welcome the jail here.

It was a polarizing issue. Summerland and the Penticton Indian Band were also considered as sites, but it was eventually built near Oliver on land owned by the Osoyoos Indian Band.

The No. 1 reason for supporting the prison was the economic benefits. Real estate did spike initially, but that’s a trend all across the Okanagan Valley. Several small businesses picked up contracts for services such as sewing.

The first hint that perhaps the public was sold a bill of goods was when cell doors were spotted crossing the border in Osoyoos. Apparently, the provincial government purchased the doors from a U.S. manufacturer.

The public was also told the facility was for inmates serving two years or less and wouldn’t house hardened criminals.

The jail has been operating now for nearly a year. In documents obtained by The

there were 76 “incidents” involving contraband drugs and another 15 involving weapons... all in a six-month period. During that time, five staff members were assaulted and 29 inmate-oninmate assaults were reported.

“The honeymoon phase is over at the jail,” union spokesman Dean Purdy bluntly said.

While unions often speak in favour of adding staff, they can’t invent these figures.

Unrelated, perhaps, is an overnight spike in crime and homelessness in Penticton. Is it coincidence? Probably not. It would be helpful if the province or city were able to track where the street people are coming from.

The Okanagan Correctional Centre is here and will remain, likely for the next 100 years. With it came issues nobody was expecting would happen. It’s now up to the new provincial government to provide adequate funding to the region to help pay for solutions to the problems that come with hosting a jail.