Ombudsman sees ‘progress’ on inmates in solitary

Inmates who are placed in segregation are better monitored — although complaints from prisoners in solitary are on the rise, says Ontario’s Ombudsman, Paul Dubé.

“We are seeing progress on how the province handles inmates who are in solitary confinement, a long-standing, difficult issue that we investigated and proposed solutions for last year,” he said Wednesday morning in releasing his annual report.

In a report released in 2017 on the practice of segregation, the ombudsman found that “the (correctional services) ministry systems for tracking inmate segregation placements were error-ridden and inaccurate, and that oversight at senior levels was severely lacking, meaning many vulnerable inmates were left isolated for long periods without the proper reviews.”

Following that, the Liberal government directed corrections facilities to create a segregation database with daily reports. It also hired extra staff. The government also passed a new law in May — it has yet to come into effect — that tightens the definition and limits the use of solitary confinement.

Dubé’s latest report, however, says, “Notwithstanding the systemic improvements under way … we continue to address complaints about segregation placements.

“We received 296 such complaints this fiscal year, compared to 275 in 2016-2017 and 186 the year before.”