Excessive isolation in prisons amounts to torture, says report

A new report says too many federal inmates in isolation aren’t getting a few hours a day out of their cells, pushing them into territory that could be described as inhuman treatment or even torture.

Citing federal data, the report says nearly three in 10 prisoners in isolation units didn’t have all — or sometimes any — of the four hours out of their cells they are supposed to get, for two weeks at a time.

A further one in 10 were kept in excessive isolation for 16 days or longer, which by international laws and Canadian rulings constitutes cruel treatment.

The findings suggest the federal prison system is falling well short of the guidelines the Liberals ushered in for “structured intervention units” designed to allow better access to programming and mental-health care for inmates who need to be kept apart from other prisoners.

Prisoners transferred to the units are supposed to be allowed out of their cells for four hours each day, with two of those hours engaged in “meaningful human contact.”

The report by two criminologists says the management of the units demands better oversight, adding the results show Canada commits “torture by another name.”

Ryerson University’s Jane Sprott and University of Toronto’s Anthony Doob, call for a body to provide systematic oversight of the units. They note ideas such as enforceable procedures to remove prisoners from conditions considered cruel or inhuman, or strict time limits, could be considered.

“There’s a tendency not just in Canadian society, but in general in many countries, that says what happens to prisoners isn’t a high priority,” Doob said in an interview. “We have a very expensive federal prison system in Canada and I’m not suggesting that we should be cutting corners financially, but rather … you can’t argue we don’t have the resources to run it well.”

The report is based on data Correctional Service Canada provided to Sprott and Doob as part of their ongoing look into practices in the isolation units.

Of those who fell into the “torture” category, as defined internationally, about 45 per cent were in isolation for up to one month, the report said. A further 30 per cent had stays that extended to almost two months, and the remaining quarter were in the units for up to 380 days.