BOYS BEHIND RIOT
Six-hour uproar in Burnaby jail was planned by youths who were housed together because of disciplinary problems: Probe
A six-hour riot in the Burnaby youth jail last summer was quietly planned by a group of disgruntled boys who were housed together because of disciplinary problems, newly released documents reveal.
The two boys suspected of masterminding the disturbance were acquaintances and were serving time after being charged with the same crime, according to an investigation report obtained by Postmedia News through a freedom of information request. The official version of events raises several concerns for the union that represents correctional officers, including the potential for future violence if procedures at the jail don’t change.
“That was a very serious riot at the Burnaby Youth Custody Centre that could have ended a lot worse,” said Dean Purdy, chairman of correctional and sheriff services with the B.C. Government Employees Union. “We were fortunate that a six-hour riot didn’t result in any injuries to our officers.”
The riot began at about 8:22 p.m. on July 19 and quickly progressed to a standoff with the boys throwing hot water at first-responders, starting a fire, flooding a classroom, breaking appliances and trying to escape through a window after they were barricaded inside the unit.
But the groundwork for the violence was laid over the previous 24 hours, beginning with a fight the evening before between two boys on an outdoor basketball court.
The fisticuffs were apparently planned as a distraction so that staff would be slow to respond just one minute later when three boys attacked another prisoner as he talked on the phone.
The three attackers and a boy who had instigated the basketball fight would all be disciplined and moved to the unit where the riot took place.
The next day, the suspected architect of the riot joined that unit, after a search of his room revealed that he was hiding a tattoo kit.
In all, seven boys were housed together, all of whom “were disgruntled and had recently been disciplined for negative behaviour,” according to the report. Six of them already knew each other, an arrangement that investigators found troubling.
“Allowing acquaintances to be housed together leads to unwanted behaviours/mob mentality,” the report reads. “Classification of the youths together could be a contributor that led to the incident.”
Over the next few hours, several staff members noticed the boys in groups whispering, and the officers informed their boss that they suspected something was up. Even so, just one staff member was left to watch the unit in the lead-up to early bedtime at 8:30 p.m.
Youth supervisor Caroline Graham was alone in the staff office when she was approached by an “extremely nervous and fidgeting” prisoner asking her for the time, according to the report. He rushed into the office and tried to grab something from inside, but she pushed him out the door and locked it.
Graham called a “code red” and backup soon arrived, but the boys jumped up onto window ledges and cabinets.
“All residents began throwing food and hot water that they had made for tea at staff while yelling, ‘We don’t give a f--- ’, as they were already on (disciplinary restrictions) and, ‘What, are you going to give me a two-hour timeout?’ ” the report reads.
The youth supervisors locked the boys into the unit and watched as they threw water bombs at the staff office, broke a TV, a microwave and a dishwasher, and tried to kick in the office door. The staff members decided to abandon the office, while residents of a nearby unit were moved to another part of the building for their safety.
From their viewpoint outside the unit, correctional officers watched as the rioters covered their faces to conceal their identities and overheard them discuss using the phones to call people on the outside.
Flames were seen shooting through a window at one point and six fire trucks were called in. Before Mounties arrived to bring the situation under control, the inmates had also started a flood and tried breaking a window to escape.
Calm was finally restored at about 2:30 a.m. The boys involved in the riot were put in three separate units, where their phone calls would be monitored by staff, their participation in programs would be limited and they would eat in their rooms.
The report makes a number of recommendations for improvement, including a review of staffing levels and estimates for the cost of reinforcing office doors. It also questions the current process for the deciding which inmates should be housed together and the appropriate response when supervisors notice suspicious behaviour