For Immediate Release
Report Highlights Dramatic Increase in Numbers of Inmates Mentally Ill Implementation of National Strategy Urged to Address Crisis
Annual Report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator of Canada 2004-2005
OTTAWA, November 4, 2005 - The number of offenders in federal penitentiaries
with significant, identified mental health needs has more than doubled over the
past decade, while mental health services offered by the Correctional Service of
Canada (CSC) have deteriorated,
according to the Annual Report by the Office of the Correctional Investigator, tabled
in Parliament today. Recent CSC
data show the percentage of federal offenders with a diagnosis of a mental disorder
on admission rose from 6.8 per cent to 11.1 per cent from 1997 to 2004 - a 61 per
cent increase in seven years. In 1997, approximately 10 per cent of all admissions
were on prescribed psychotropic medications. By 2004, this proportion had grown
to 18.5 per cent - an increase of almost 80 per cent.
"The Correctional Service must act to swiftly and substantively address the serious
deficiencies in the delivery of mental health services to this vulnerable group
of offenders," said the Correctional Investigator, Howard Sapers. He noted that
most offenders eventually return to their home communities and that the most recent
Statistics Canada data shows in 2003, 61 per cent of offenders received sentences
of less than three years, and 92 per cent of less than six years.
"Public safety will be enhanced if we ensure that offenders with mental illnesses
are released back in the community having received adequate care. To reduce the
likelihood that inmates who are mentally ill will re-offend after they are released,
means providing a continuum of care - from assessment, through diagnosis, treatment
and timely, supportive transitioning back to communities - safely, effectively and
efficiently," he said.
The Report recommends that the CSC
secure and commit adequate funding for its Mental Health Strategy and train
all front-line staff to appropriately identify disruptive mental health behaviour
and respond accordingly. The Strategy, approved by the
CSC in the summer of 2004, has languished. No funding has been committed
for the three front-end components of the plan: comprehensive clinical intake assessment;
improvement to the Service's current Treatment Centres; and intermediate mental
health-care units within existing penitentiaries to provide ongoing treatment and
assessment during the period of incarceration. Funding secured for the fourth component,
community mental health services to support offenders on conditional release, has
not yet reached communities.
The Report notes that the overall situation of Aboriginal offenders, a disproportionately
high percentage of the penitentiary population, has not measurably improved in recent
years. It recommends the appointment of a Deputy Commissioner for Aboriginal Offenders
with authority to implement the Service's Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Offenders.
To monitor progress, the Report also calls for the release of quarterly reports
on the implementation of the Plan, and quarterly performance reports on Aboriginal
issues currently being developed by the
CSC.
In addition, the Report calls upon the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
to appoint an Expert Committee to review and publicly report on the
CSC's 10-year status report on the advancement of human rights, fairness
and equity issues since Madam Justice Arbour's 1996 Commission of Inquiry into Certain
Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston.
The Report identifies three pillars for ensuring the federal correctional system
meets its objectives of safe and humane custody and supervision of offenders, and
assisting the rehabilitation of offenders and their return to the community as law-abiding
citizens: the fostering of a strong culture of human rights within the
CSC; the need for correctional staff and senior managers to be accountable
in the administration of law and policy; and the requirement to assist offenders
to ensure their timely safe reintegration into the community.
The Correctional Investigator is mandated by an Act of Parliament to be an independent
Ombudsman for federal offenders. This work includes ensuring that systemic areas
of concern are identified and addressed. To access all of the findings and recommendations
contained in this year's Annual Report, as well as the Correctional Service of Canada's
response to it, visit www.oci-bec.gc.ca.
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For further information:
Nathalie Neault
A/Executive Director
Office of the Correctional Investigator
Tel: (613) 998-6960