Some inmates may be freed as virus countermeasure

Public prosecutions will consider releasing remanded inmates who are not considered a public safety threat to address the potential spread of COVID-19 in jails, says Saskatchewan’s assistant deputy attorney general.

Tony Gerein made the announcement after local groups, including the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), called for the release of non-violent, low-risk inmates who are either serving sentences or on remand at Saskatchewan’s provincial and federal institutions.

Gerein said new arrests will be assessed in light of the “unprecedented health situation.”

Inmates currently being held in custody while their charges remain before the court will be reassessed to determine if their status should change, Gerein said.

He used the example of someone being held on a charge of failing to appear in court.

“It’s a matter of public safety remaining the first priority, and this is a balancing of the same things that got looked at before,” he continued.

Gerein said he could not specify how many remanded offenders would be considered for release, or how soon releases would start taking place.

When it comes to sentenced offenders, justice ministry spokesman Noel Busse said corrections will consider ways to “more effectively manage the offender population in provincial correctional facilities.”

Last week, CUPE 1949 president Meara Conway said decreasing the population by releasing non-violent inmates, especially those who are elderly or have underlying health conditions, is necessary to keep the entire prison population safe.

“These are densely populated, sometimes they’re overcrowded, so containment would be very difficult in one of these confined spaces,” she said, adding she is not aware of any current outbreaks in Saskatchewan institutions.

Busse said the Ministry of Justice could not confirm if any coronavirus cases have cropped up in the correctional centres, noting that any such information would have to come from the Ministry of Health.