End of solitary will spark prison ‘bloodbath’: Union
The national prison guards’ union is predicting increased violence behind bars as the federal government moves to end solitary confinement — pointing to the recent assault of a guard at Kent Institution in Agassiz as an example.
Jason Godin, the national president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said attacks on guards and inmates have been increasing as the use of segregation has decreased ahead of new legislation to change the prison system.
“When this goes through, the bloodbath will start,” he predicted.
On Tuesday, a guard at B.C.’s only maximum-security prison, Kent Institution, suffered a broken arm, allegedly when an prisoner hit him with a broom handle. The officer had asked the prisoner to turn down his stereo because it was disrupting other inmates.
Although the prisoner was not in segregation, “the Kent situation showed a complete lack of respect,” said Godin. “It’s becoming more and more difficult for officers, and inmates know that.”
The federal legislation tabled on Tuesday will establish penitentiary units, called structural intervention units, that will house certain inmates separately, while still giving them access to various programs.
Inmates in such units will be allowed outside their cells for four hours each day, up from two hours, with two hours of “meaningful human contact.” The time is in addition to shower and phone call time.
Calls for restrictions on the use of solitary confinement increased after the inquest into Ashley Smith’s death. The teen died in a segregated cell in Ontario in 2007. A coroner’s jury found that her self-inflicted choking death was a homicide.
Earlier this year, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled the practice of prolonged and indefinite solitary confinement was unconstitutional, in response to a legal challenge by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and the John Howard Society of Canada.
Prisoner advocate Glenn Flett said he supports the new federal legislation, explaining segregation does “more harm than good.”
“I’ve picked up guys who have been released from Kent straight out of segregation, and it’s a scary, scary event,” he said. “They ’re sensory deprived and their stress level is incredible. They are in no way prepared for release.”
The founder of the LINC Society, Flett said he understands prison guards’ concerns about safety.
“There are times when people need a timeout. But I’m not saying that it should be for long. What you see is inmates being kept in segregation for five days, 30 days, 60 days, as their behaviour deteriorates. But it’s deteriorating because they ’re in segregation. It’s not productive, and it’s ultimately not safe for the public.”
Godin said the new legislation will require meaningful consultation and resources to make it work.
“(Ending segregation) is a beautiful idea, but I highly doubt the proper resources will be there to do it. We’re not angry at the therapeutic part, but the buck stops at safety and security.”
The union president said segregated inmates are supervised at a 2:1 guard-to-prisoner ratio when they ’re not in their unit. “No thought has been given to what measures we need to take to make sure no one gets hurt,” he said.
Meanwhile, prison violence is on the rise across the country. A Corrections Canada report published in February predicted an increase in minor and moderate assaults at federal prisons in B.C. for the 2017-18 fiscal year, with assaults at Pacific Institution (Regional Treatment Centre) in Abbotsford projected to rise from nine to 16.
According to the report, five offenders were responsible for 12 assaults on staff at Pacific Institution between April 1 and Dec. 31, 2017, while one offender was responsible for 58 per cent of all the assaults on staff.
In a statement on the proposed legislation, federal Conservative critic Pierre Paul-Hus accused the prime minister of demonstrating “both a shocking indifference for victims and a disturbing compassion for criminals.”
“Solitary confinement is a common and legitimate safety measure many Western countries take to protect guards from dangerous and volatile prisoners,” he said.