Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Province moves to ease remand overcrowdi­ng

- BARB PACHOLIK

From moving low-risk, released prisoners into shelters to holding early resolution meetings on Sundays, the Saskatchew­an government is trying some new measures to stem overcrowdi­ng in the province’s jails.

“What we can say right now is that if we just leave it as it is, it’s going to break the bank,” Dale McFee, the Justice Ministry’s deputy minister for correction­s, said in an interview this week. Managing overcapaci­ty issues driven largely by a burgeoning number of remand inmates in the adult jails cost an additional $10.3 million last year, he said.

“When you get the right people on remand to protect the public, and you get the right people out, actually getting services in the

community, you have the ability to start taking these numbers down.”

Three decades ago, remand inmates were about 20 per cent of the jail population. Today, they represent nearly half the people in provincial custody. A recent day’s count in provincial facilities that hold remand and sentenced inmates showed the ratio at 875 remand prisoners to 916 sentenced inmates.

This month, the government struck deals with Salvation Army shelters in Regina and Saskatoon to have 10 beds for low-risk remand inmates who can be released on conditions.

It’s intended for short stays, and comes with a case manager to help match the person with some help and eventually more long-term housing.

The aim is to address the needs of some accused who don’t necessaril­y pose a risk to the public, but were held on remand because, for example, they had nowhere to live or might not show up in court because of a dysfunctio­nal lifestyle.

Regina’s Salvation Army Waterston Centre will get $380,000 to provide space for 10 inmates and hire a full-time case worker and a part-time psychiatri­c nurse.

Executive director Maj. Wayne McDonough said he’s not concerned about having inmates in an open facility; Waterston Centre ran a halfway house in the past.

It also takes the pressure off busy Legal Aid lawyers to try to get supports and release plans in place, since such case management will be done by community-based organizati­ons, including the Salvation Army, John Howard Society in Prince Albert and Elizabeth Fry Society for accused women in Saskatoon and Prince Albert.

McFee said another measure that shows promise is an early resolution pilot project that started in January in Saskatoon. Analysis showed the number of remand inmates spikes early in the week because of weekend arrests. They often sit on remand for several days awaiting release plans and advice from Legal Aid.

Justice Ministry staff told a legislativ­e committee this week that a prosecutor, a defence lawyer contracted by Legal Aid, and a representa­tive of a community organizati­on meet Sunday mornings to discuss new arrests. By Monday, the groundwork has already been laid for release in some cases, or even pleas and sentencing. The pilot project saw 70 per cent of people released or sentenced on their first appearance.

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