Annual Report of the
Office of the Correctional
Investigator 2005-2006
Press Briefing for the Annual Report 2005-2006:
Report Finds Evidence of Systemic Discrimination Against Aboriginal Inmates in Canada's
Prisons
Table of Contents
Correctional Investigator's Introduction
KEY ISSUES
Health Services, Including Mental Health and Needle Exchange
Women Offenders
Aboriginal Offenders
Institutional Violence and Investigations of Inmate Injury
Inmate Grievances, Allegations of Harassment and Staff Misconduct
Case Preparation and Access to Programs
ONGOING AREAS OF CONCERN
Population Management
Younger Offenders
Elderly Offenders
Inmate Finances
Compassionate Temporary Absences
Classification of Offenders Serving Life Sentences
Inmate Access to Computers
Conclusion
Annex A: Statistics
Annex B: Summary of Recommendations
RESPONSE FROM THE CORRECTIONAL SERVICE OF CANADA TO THE 33RD
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR 2005-2006
© Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada 2006
Paper Version:
Cat. No. PS100-2006
ISBN 0-662-49431-8
PDF Version:
Cat. No. PS100-2006E-PDF
ISBN 0-662-43885-X
June 30, 2006
The Honourable Stockwell Day
Minister of Public Safety
House of Commons
Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
Dear Minister,
In accordance with section 192 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act,
it is my duty and privilege to submit to you the 33rd Annual Report of the Correctional
Investigator.
Yours respectfully,
Howard Sapers
Correctional Investigator
THE PILLARS OF EFFECTIVE CORRECTIONS:
- The absolute necessity of fostering a strong culture of human rights within the
Correctional Service of Canada.
- The need for correctional staff and senior managers to be accountable in their administration
of law and policy.
- The requirement to assist offenders to ensure their timely, safe reintegration into
the community.
Correctional Investigator's Introduction
Work in corrections demands passion, commitment and optimism.
Canadians are fortunate that the Correctional Service of Canada is staffed by individuals
who overwhelmingly possess these characteristics. The men and women of the Correctional
Service strive to conduct themselves with a high level of professionalism and competence.
Unfortunately, there are individual exceptions and systemic and structural challenges.
Corrections is after all a human enterprise and there will be failures and mistakes.
My report, which reflects upon the problems of offenders, necessarily focuses upon
the exceptions, failures and structural challenges.
In my last Annual Report 2004-05, I highlighted three pillars of sound correctional
practice: the protection of human rights, the acceptance of accountability, and
safe, supported, timely reintegration. Adherence to these basic principles is key
to the Correctional Service meeting its two statutory obligations of safe, humane
custody and assisting offenders, through rehabilitative programming and supervision,
to return to their communities as law abiding citizens.
First, respecting and preserving fundamental human rights and freedoms should form
the backbone of any correctional endeavour. The regular duties and functions of
all correctional staff - such as use of force, searches, placements in segregation
and transfers to higher security - can significantly impede and intrude upon human
rights. The Correctional Service has great authority over every single aspect of
the lives of offenders. For this reason, the actions of the Correctional Service
must comply with the rule of law and be consistent with human rights protections
afforded by law. Through respecting the human rights of offenders, we as a society
convey a strong message that everyone is to be treated with inherent respect and
dignity regardless of his or her circumstance, race, social status, gender or religion.
Second, accountability is fundamental to our democratic system of government. Accountability
and transparency in decision-making are central features of an effective correctional
system. The Correctional Service must possess the means, strategies and methods
for evaluating its performance, and be able to demonstrate to Parliament and Canadians
the efficacy and fairness of its decisions. The corporate governance structure must
be capable of preventing, detecting and rectifying violations of law and policy
in a timely fashion. Accountability in corrections also means being responsive to
the areas of concerns raised by offenders.
Finally, the Correctional Service's enabling statute, the Corrections and Conditional
Release Act, builds upon the belief that successful rehabilitation and
safe reintegration of offenders depend upon providing humane treatment and the least
restrictive forms of custody and control, consistent with public safety. Successful,
safe and timely reintegration is more likely to occur when rehabilitation programs,
based on solid evidence, are provided early and through-out the sentence. These
programs might target mental health, anger management or substance abuse. Other
programs, such as employment skills and education, must also be made available to
offenders to better equip them for their eventual return to the community.
With the arrival this past year of a new Commissioner of Corrections, Correctional
Service is going through a transition to new priorities to meet the demands of new
leadership. Such a transition period provides a great opportunity for the Correctional
Service to rejuvenate itself, and to look forward and seek new ways to achieve its
goals and objectives.
However, looking to the future with optimism cannot be done without carefully reflecting
upon the past history of the organization. For more than a decade, the Correctional
Service has been the subject of many reviews and recommendations on how best to
address chronic concerns. Looking forward should be done mindful of the past, as
history in federal corrections is filled with repeated missed opportunities to address
systemic issues.
The Correctional Service is a large, complex and decentralized organization. It
operates within an environment which imposes competing demands and provides little
tolerance for failure. Limited resources continue to be stretched ever more thinly
and "doing more with less" has become the required standard operating procedure.
This reality, no matter how challenging, does not excuse the Correctional Service
for operating at odds with its legal and policy framework. If resources are the
problem and operational demands make significant reallocation impossible, then new
resources must be obtained. The focus must always be on doing what is right and
respecting the three pillars described above.
By and large, despite considerable effort, there has not been adequate progress
on the eight recommendations in last year's Annual Report. Canadians should take
notice as this lack of progress has clear repercussions on public safety. The Canadian
public is not well served when the Correctional Service does not do what it is required
to do to assist the rehabilitation of offenders.
This inadequate response often stems from structural problems which are resistant
to change. Many of the issues the Correctional Service struggles with originate
well outside of their institutions. Even so, while the Correctional Service is not
responsible for the social conditions and policy decisions which shape its offender
population, it is responsible for operating in compliance with the law.
Perhaps, to some degree, recommendations of the past have not focused sufficiently
on outcomes, causing the Correctional Service to respond to those recommendations
in a bureaucratic manner. I believe that too often the rationales for recommendations
are lost in a sea of action plans, strategic plans, working groups and task forces.
Over the years, too much effort has been invested in bureaucratic processes with
little or no change in "outcomes."
Over the years, too much effort has been invested in bureaucratic processes
with little or no change in "outcomes."
As an ombudsman, it is my role to review offender complaints and comment on compliance
and fairness issues - it is not my role to direct the Correctional Service on how
to best manage itself. As an independent ombudsman office which has the benefit
of looking objectively at problem areas, my recommendations directed to the Correctional
Service should be designed to enhance accountability of Correctional Service managers
and staff to ensure the safe, humane and lawfully administered custody and supervision
of offenders.
Therefore, in this year's Annual Report 2005-06, I will make recommendations which
largely focus on improving "outcomes." In this way, the rationales for my recommendations
will not be lost. Hopefully the Correctional Service will respond by demonstrating
its commitment to address systemic issues by improving performance on a set of key
"outcomes" related to the specifics of the issues identified.
In November 2005, the Correctional Service announced its five new priorities: community
transition; institutional safety and security; Aboriginal offenders; mental health;
and, strengthening management practices. These priorities are of great interest
to this Office, and we are pleased to see that the Correctional Service is in the
process of prioritizing its many challenges and identifying measurable outcomes.
We are hopeful that the focus will eventually achieve some concrete and significant
results that will translate into effectively addressing these priority areas.
By the time this report is tabled before Parliament in the fall of 2006, I will
have been Canada's federal prison ombudsman for two and a half years - exactly halfway
through my five-year term. This is, therefore, an opportune time for me to reflect
on the effectiveness of my Office in fulfilling its mandate.
Since my appointment as Correctional Investigator, it has become abundantly clear
that the key strength of this Office is its ability to address individual offender
complaints at the institutional level. The dedication and professionalism of those
involved in investigations and resolution of complaints are what makes this Office
an important and effective organization. Our independence, paired with fair and
professional investigative staff and managers, are key components of a productive
ombudsman office. It is important to note that more often than not, Correctional
Service staff and managers at the institutional level continue to be responsive
to our representations and are, therefore, partners in our success.
Unfortunately, it has also become equally clear that the major weakness of this
Office is its limited ability to cause the Correctional Service to reasonably address
systemic issues and to ensure that its operations fully comply with its legislative
and policy framework. This Office is, therefore, destined to deal with the same
issues year after year, and has been unable to break this cycle and prevent complaints
from emerging in the first place. Interestingly, the Correctional Service's internal
grievance system is caught in the same unproductive cycle, responding to thousands
of similar complaints and grievances year after year with limited ability to fix
systemic issues that are the root causes of offender complaints.
The obvious concern with this pattern is the absence of sustained improvement. The
list of unresolved issues that continue to plague the Correctional Service's compliance
with its legal and policy framework includes:
- the Correctional Service has failed to demonstrate that it meets its statutory obligation
to provide essential mental health care and reasonable access to non-essential mental
health care in accordance to "professionally accepted standards." Over the last
decade, the number of mentally ill offenders has more than doubled, yet the level
of mental health services within its institutions has remained the same or diminished;
- the Correctional Service continues to provide physical health care services in facilities
that have not been accredited and have not demonstrated compliance with "professionally
accepted standards";
- despite the undeniable recognition of the benefits of harm reduction initiatives,
a needle exchange program has yet to be introduced to curtail the spread of infectious
diseases such as Hepatitis C and HIV
within and outside the penitentiary walls;
- the Correctional Service has yet to establish a consistent "procedure for fairly
and expeditiously resolving offenders' grievances." This Office has raised the inadequacy
of the Correctional Service's grievance system in every Annual Report since 1987.
The net effect is that the current procedure remains non-compliant with legislative
and policy requirements;
- the Correctional Service has failed to fully implement its harassment policy. In
spite of the recommendation of Madame Justice Louise Arbour1 a decade ago on the immediate necessity of implementing
a harassment policy to protect offenders, the Correctional Service is still unable
to comply with the provisions of its "new" harassment policy implemented almost
three years ago;
- I have repeatedly recommended rescinding the policy which requires that federally
sentenced offenders serving a minimum life sentence for first-or second-degree murder
be classified as maximum security for at least the first two years of federal incarceration.
The policy, which is contrary to all other classification policy, has been in place
since 2001, and hundreds of offenders have now been unjustifiably (and at great
financial cost) over-classified2
as a result;
- the Correctional Service continues to rely on risk assessment tools that have been
repeatedly found to over-classify women and Aboriginal offenders. Since concerns
expressed in 1996 by Madame Justice Arbour, numerous subsequent observers have determined
that the tools used by the Correctional Service should not be used. Until such time
as new tools are developed, Aboriginal and women offenders continue to be unjustifiably
over-classified and hence discriminated against;
- many offenders, often mentally ill, increasingly serve a significant part of their
penitentiary sentence in administrative segregation. Since the Arbour Report of
1996, several internal and external reports have advocated independent adjudication
of administrative segregation decisions to achieve legal compliance. After 10 years
of recommendations, the Correctional Service continues to argue, without supporting
evidence, that an enhanced internal segregation review process can achieve fairness
and compliance with the rule of law, and reduce the number of placements in segregation;
- the Correctional Service is increasingly relying upon restrictive units and the
creation of correctional sub-populations outside of the legal framework of the Corrections
and Conditional Release Act to manage offenders without the benefit of
adequate procedural safeguards;
- the Correctional Service does not meet its statutory obligation to ensure the rights
of Aboriginal offenders to effective assistance in reintegrating into the community.
The Correctional Service's own statistics confirm that the situation of Aboriginal
offenders is deteriorating in many areas that the Correctional Service could positively
influence. That includes significant delays in timely and safe reintegration into
the community; under-representation in minimum-security institutions and over-representation
in maximum-security institutions and administrative segregation; limited use of
legislative provisions designed to enhance Aboriginal reintegration; and a high
ratio of detention referrals. The situation of Aboriginal women in terms of security
classification and timely conditional release is even more problematic;
- despite past efforts, the Correctional Service has failed to implement a more humane
and less restrictive alternative to long-term segregation of women. There also remain
significant barriers to the timely and effective reintegration of women offenders,
including access to programming, mental health services, institutional employment,
and post release housing;
- there are unreasonable delays in convening Correctional Service investigations into
serious injury or death of inmates. Once investigations are completed, there are
additional unreasonable delays in obtaining the Commissioner's response to the recommendations
of the investigation reports and the ensuing action plans; and,
- the Correctional Service has not adequately addressed the ongoing excessively high
number of delays in presenting cases to the National Parole Board for consideration.
Moreover, the number of offenders involved in work release and unescorted temporary
absence programming continue to decline, even when the success rates of these forms
of conditional release have historically been very high.
I recognize that in the past the Correctional Service has often not disagreed with
the issues identified or necessarily opposed my recommendations. One key stumbling
block to reasonably addressing these issues is the Correctional Service's challenge
in effectively managing competing priorities with limited resources. With this in
mind, I encourage those who hold the purse strings and who are ultimately responsible
to Canadians for ensuring the Correctional Service operates in full compliance with
its legal mandate to become familiar with my report.
The need for the Correctional Service to effect fundamental, lasting changes to
address the above noted issues continues to rank as the overriding concern for this
Office. The power of an ombudsman is limited to making recommendations. Without
increased commitment on the part of the Correctional Service and Parliament to make
significant progress to resolve these long standing issues, federal offenders will
continue to live in an environment plagued with violence, conditions not conducive
to positive change, inadequate mental and physical health care, and limitations
in the services necessary to assist their reintegration into society as law abiding
citizens. At the end of the day, these factors all impact negatively on public safety.
It is my sincere belief that, if implemented, my recommendations would assist the
Correctional Service in meeting its mandate. A hallmark of a mature, confident organization
is its ability to accept external criticism and oversight, and adjust its operations
accordingly. I look forward to working with the Correctional Service to achieve
and sustain meaningful improvements in the coming year.
Howard Sapers
Correctional Investigator of Canada
THE KEY ISSUES:
- Health Services, Including Mental Health and Needle Exchange
- Women Offenders
- Aboriginal Offenders
- Institutional Violence and Investigations of Inmate Injury
- Inmate Grievances, Allegations of Harassment and Staff Misconduct
- Case Preparation and Access to Programs
KEY ISSUES
The following sections highlight key areas of offender complaints.
HEALTH SERVICES, INCLUDING MENTAL HEALTH AND NEEDLE EXCHANGE
By law the Correctional Service must provide essential health care services
to every inmate in accordance with "professionally accepted standards."
(a) Professionally Accepted Standards
For years, health care issues have been a primary area of offender complaints to
this Office and the Correctional Service's grievance process. By law, the Correctional
Service must provide essential health care services to every inmate in accordance
with "professionally accepted standards." The law makes no reference to other measurements,
such as community or provincial standards.
To help ensure that this obligation was being met, the Correctional Service committed
in 2001 to have all its health care units and regional mental health facilities
accredited. Accreditation involves a detailed examination of an organization's services
and methods of operation.
The Correctional Service sought the assistance of the Canadian Council on Health
Services Accreditation to examine and improve the quality of care and service it
provides to inmates. The Council is an independent, internationally-recognized agency
that has accredited over 1,500 individual or provincial sites, 11 national and three
international organizations. According to the Council, accreditation is not a "pass
or fail" process but rather one of continuous improvement and an objective measure
of progress against a set of professional standards.
The Council has a two-phase accreditation process. The first phase involves self-assessment:
the organization seeking accreditation measures its own compliance against the Council's
national standards. In the second phase, surveyors from outside the organization
undertake the accreditation survey and use the same national standards to independently
measure the organization through an on-site survey. The findings from the survey
are summarized in a written report.
The Correctional Service completed the first phase of the Council process which
is basically a pre-audit to maximize the chances of success in the second phase
(accreditation). Twenty-nine of a total of 54 sites subsequently underwent the second
accreditation phase.
Failure to have health services accredited raises questions about the Correctional
Service's compliance with its legislative obligation to meet "professionally accepted
standards."
For an organization that has provided health care services for more than 100 years,
it was with great concern that I learned that 52 per cent of the sites (15) failed
to be accredited, 38 per cent (11) were accredited with various conditions, and
only 10 per cent (3) were fully accredited. Two key factors that prevented accreditation
included the inadequacy of the existing clinical governance structure and the absence
of continuing professional education and training for health care staff. Accreditation
for the remaining sites has been put on hold.
In the absence of any other objective measurement, failure to have health services
accredited raises questions about the Correctional Service's compliance with its
legislative obligation to meet "professionally accepted standards."
If no significant progress is made in the coming year, I will explore recommendations
that would assign the delivery of health care services to accredited publicly administered
providers other than the Correctional Service.
1. I recommend that the Correctional Service demonstrate compliance with
its legal obligation to provide every inmate with essential health care according
to professionally accepted standards, and that all institutional health care sites
be accredited within one year.
(B) Mental Health
For three years, my Office has focused on the inadequacy of mental health care services
for offenders.
In my last Annual Report 2004-05, I highlighted the fact that the proportion of
federal offenders with significant, identified mental health needs has more than
doubled over the past decade. I also stated that mental health services offered
by the Correctional Service to these offenders have not kept up with the dramatic
increase in numbers of offenders with mental illnesses.
The level of mental health services available continues to be seriously deficient,
and in my opinion, the Correctional Service is not fulfilling its legislative obligation
to provide every inmate with essential mental health care and reasonable access
to non-essential mental health care.
In July 2004, the Correctional Service approved a mental health strategy that promotes
the adoption of a continuum of care from initial intake through the safe release
of offenders into the community. Funds were obtained to strengthen the release end
of the Correctional Service's mental health continuum.
This Office welcomed the news of new investments in community mental health by the
Correctional Service in December 2005. Offenders with mental disorders, as a result,
will be better served during their period of conditional release. However, no other
investment has been made to consistently assess the offender population at intake
and to ensure that their mental health needs are adequately addressed throughout
their sentence.
Although mental health is now one of five priorities for the Correctional Service,
there have been no significant changes at the institutional level over the past
year. Offenders with mental illnesses continue to be segregated and punished for
displaying symptoms of their illnesses and not treated adequately according to "professionally
accepted standards." Over the last year, we have, in fact, witnessed the reduction
in some mental health services that had previously existed - an example being the
diminishing number of psychologists in the Ontario Region.
I recommended last year that immediate steps to sensitize and train
all front-line staff to appropriately identify mental health behaviour and respond
accordingly be undertaken, but such training has yet to be fully developed
- let alone comprehensively delivered. This situation can only be described as critical.
2. I recommend that the Correctional Service demonstrate compliance with
its legal obligation to provide every inmate with essential mental health care and
reasonable access to non-essential mental health care according to professionally
accepted standards, and that all mental health care units and regional treatment
centres be accredited within one year.
3. I again recommend that the Correctional Service take immediate steps
to sensitize and train all front-line staff to appropriately identify disruptive
mental health behaviour and respond accordingly.
(C) Needle Exchange
In 1994, the Expert Committee on Aids in Prison, established by the Correctional
Service, reported on the increasing incidence of infectious diseases in federal
penitentiaries. The committee found the causes of disease to include the use and
sharing of contaminated drug paraphernalia. By 2004, most of the committee's recommendations
for education, treatment and harm-reduction had been implemented by the Correctional
Service. The only outstanding recommendation relates to making clean needles available
to inmates for exchange to prevent serious communicable diseases such as Hepatitis
C and HIV spreading among
the offender population and ultimately to society at large.
In a letter dated April 21, 2005, the former Minister of Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness indicated openness to exploring the viability of introducing a needle
exchange program in Canadian penitentiaries. Around that time, the Correctional
Service signed a memorandum of understanding with the Public Health Agency of Canada
to receive scientific and technical advice concerning potential risks and benefits
of prison needle exchange programs.
On March 30, 2006, Health Minister Tony Clement responded to my correspondence on
this issue and said:
"I am especially concerned with the safe needle exchange program and with public
health issues for all persons in Canada, including those in correctional facilities.
Given the high rates of infectious disease among federal inmates, most notably Hepatitis
C and HIV, departmental
officials will continue to work closely with the
CSC."
On May 10, 2006, the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology,
chaired by Senator Michael J.L. Kirby, tabled a report on mental health and addiction
entitled Out of the Shadows at Last. Following a discussion on prison-based
needle exchange, the report recommended "that the Correctional Service of Canada
immediately implement expanded harm reduction measures in all federal correctional
institutions."
4. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately implement a prison-based
needle exchange to ensure that inmates and society at large are best protected from
the spread of infectious diseases.
WOMEN OFFENDERS
In April 1994, women at the Prison for Women were strip-searched by an all-male
Institutional Emergency Response Team. In February 1995, the Correctional Investigator
delivered a special report to the Solicitor General detailing concerns with respect
to the emergency response team's intervention at the Prison for Women and the conditions
and duration of segregation. The government responded by establishing a Royal Commission
of Inquiry, chaired by Madame Justice Louise Arbour, now United Nations High Commissioner
of Human Rights. The report of the Commission of Inquiry into Certain Events at
the Prison for Women was released March 31, 1996. The recommendations of the Commission
were directed to the Solicitor General of Canada of the day, the Honourable Herb
Gray.
In her report, Madame Justice Arbour stated: "My objective in bringing forward recommendations
on various aspects of corrections that have been touched upon by this inquiry is
to assist the correctional system in coming into the fold of two basic Canadian
constitutional ideals...the protection of individual rights and the entitlement
to equality."
On June 4, 1996, the Solicitor General of Canada stated: "After reviewing the report,
I accept what I see as its basic thrust, namely that there must be respect for the
rule of law by the Correctional Service in the way it carries out its responsibilities."
Although the Solicitor General undertook to respond to the recommendations of Madame
Justice Arbour, to date only the Correctional Service has provided a response. Since
the release of Madame Justice Arbour's report, there have been several additional
reviews on federal correctional services which for the most part have repeated many
of Justice Arbour's key 1996 recommendations.3
There have been some improvements in the situation for women offenders. The Prison
for Women has been replaced by five new regional facilities and a healing lodge
which accommodate women offenders in closer proximity to their community. The women's
maximum security units in male penitentiaries have been closed. A Deputy Commissioner
for Women has now been in place for a decade, which has assisted in maintaining
a focus on women's correctional issues.
In April 2005, in response to repeated recommendations from my Office, the Minister
of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness requested that the Correctional Service
publish the Ten-Year Status Report on Women's Correction 1996-2006. This
report, issued in April 2006, is the Service's own assessment of its efforts.
Given these developments and the great interest by criminal justice stakeholders
in these matters, I considered it important that the Minister of Public Safety receive
independent advice with respect to the Correctional Service's advances in human
rights, fairness and equity issues since the Arbour Report of 1996. I therefore
recommended in my last Annual Report 2004-05 that the Minister appoint an expert
committee to review the Correctional Service's Ten-Year Status Report and
to consult with stakeholders, identify gaps between recommendations made and actions
taken, formulate recommendations to address the gaps and report directly back to
the Minister. I also recommended that the report of the expert committee be made
public.
The Minister partly accepted my recommendation and asked that the Correctional Service
establish the expert committee, which would then report back to the Commissioner
of Corrections - not the Minister as recommended. The Commissioner and the Minister
have assured me that the review will nonetheless be made public. I look forward
to the results of the committee's review, and will therefore limit my recommendations
this year to immediate operational concerns.
This Office has noted over the course of the past two years a significant increase
in the number of women offenders returning to the community on statutory release
rather than on day or full parole. We have also noticed a corresponding increase
during this timeframe in the number of waivers and postponements of National Parole
Board hearings by women offenders. Both of these trends are most evident among Aboriginal
women. While there has been a slight increase in the number of women on work release
programs, there has been a decline in the number participating in unescorted temporary
absence programs. After a significant decline in 2004-05, the number of reportable
use of force incidents at women's facilities has measurably increased over the course
of this reporting year.
5. I recommend that, within one year, the Correctional Service:
- significantly increase all women offenders' access to meaningful employment
and employability programming;
- continue to significantly increase community accommodations and support
services for women offenders in underserved areas;
- review the daily operations and staffing of the women's secure units
with a view to eliminating "deadtime"4
and to significantly increasing timely access to treatment, spiritual, academic
and work programs;
- significantly increase the number of women offenders appearing before
the National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates;
- build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and section 81 agreements
with Aboriginal communities5;
- significantly improve access to culturally sensitive programming and
services for Aboriginal women who are currently imprisoned in the Atlantic, Quebec
and Ontario regions;
- review use of force incidents at women's facilities to ensure consistent
compliance with policy;
- establish firm targets ensuring all front-line staff receive refresher
training in women-centered approaches in accordance with the recommendation of the
Canadian Human Rights Commission; and,
- provide women-centered training to all community parole officers working
with women offenders.
ABORIGINAL OFFENDERS
Over the past decade, our annual reports have made specific recommendations addressing
the systemic and discriminatory barriers that prevent Aboriginal offenders from
full benefit of their statutory and constitutional rights and that significantly
limit their timely and safe reintegration into the community.
Despite some positive steps, the overall situation of Aboriginal offenders has not
measurably improved in recent years. Aboriginals account for a disproportionate
share of the prison population. They represent 18 per cent of the federal prison
population although they account for just 3 per cent of the general Canadian population.
The best estimate of the overall incarceration rate for Aboriginal People
in Canada is 1,024 per 100,000 adults.
To illustrate the magnitude of this overrepresentation, according to the most current
Statistics Canada information, Canada has an overall incarceration rate of 130 per
100,000 adults. This rate includes adults incarcerated in both provincial and federal
institutions. Using the same numbers from Statistics Canada, the best estimate of
the overall incarceration rate for Aboriginal People in Canada is 1,024 per 100,000
adults.6 Using the same methodology,
the comparable incarceration rate for non-Aboriginal persons is 117 per 100,000
adults.
The Correctional Service does not control admissions to penitentiaries, but it does
have a constitutional and statutory obligation to manage sentences in a culturally
responsive and non-discriminatory manner. The areas of concern associated with Aboriginal
Corrections go far beyond over-representation and require focusing on what happens
to Aboriginal offenders while in the care and custody of the Correctional Service.
The Correctional Service has invested a great deal of effort and resources in addressing
Aboriginal issues. Culturally sensitive programs have been established and Aboriginal
issues have become a priority for the Correctional Service.
However, these efforts have not resulted in the kind of significant progress needed
to improve the overall situation of Aboriginal offenders. The Correctional Service's
own statistics confirm that correctional outcomes for Aboriginal offenders are not
improving in many areas that the Correctional Service can positively influence.
The Final Report: Task Force on Aboriginal Peoples in Federal Corrections
in 1988 found that Aboriginal offenders were less likely to be granted temporary
absences and parole, were granted parole later in their sentence, were more likely
to have their parole suspended or revoked and were more likely to be classified
at a higher security level. Unfortunately, this is as true today as it was nearly
20 years ago.
I stated in last year's Annual Report that after years of task force reports, internal
reviews, national strategies, partnership agreements and action plans, the efforts
and resources of the Correctional Service remained in large part unfocused and fragmented.
I recommended again last year that the Correctional Service appoint a Deputy Commissioner
specifically responsible for Aboriginal Corrections and the implementation of a
comprehensive and effective strategic plan to address the many challenges. While
the Correctional Service did institute a governance change, a Deputy Commissioner
has not been appointed and the disadvantaged position of Aboriginal offenders remains.
I was advised in December 2004 that a "new Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Corrections"
was under development and would be reviewed by the Correctional Service's senior
Executive Committee (EXCOM)
in February of 2005 and finalized by the end of April 2005. In December of 2005,
the committee endorsed a "Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Corrections - Framework
for EXCOM
Discussion." A series of consultations, which included this Office, occurred during
the period of January through April 2006 on the strategy. I was advised in April
of 2006 that consultations on an "updated Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Corrections"
was still on-going and that we would receive a copy of the strategy in the spring
of 2006. Our Office received a document entitled Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Corrections
2006/07 - 2010/11 on June 1, 2006. I understand that a further consultation
process is currently under way to develop action plans to implement the strategy.
Given the continued absence of an approved action plan, my recommendation this year
will focus on specific outcomes, in the hope that the Correctional Service will
make significant and quantifiable progress in key areas related
to closing the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders in terms of timely
conditional release.
6. I recommend that in the next year the Correctional Service:
- implement a security classification process that ends the over-classification
of Aboriginal offenders;
- increase timely access to programs and services that will significantly
reduce time spent in medium and maximum security institutions;
- significantly increase the number of Aboriginal offenders housed at
minimum security institutions;
- significantly increase the use of unescorted temporary absences and
work releases;
- significantly increase the number of Aboriginal offenders appearing
before the National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates; and,
- build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and section 81 agreements
with Aboriginal communities7.
7. I recommend that the Correctional Service significantly improve (above
the required employment equity level) the overall rate of its Aboriginal workforce
at all levels in institutions where a majority of offenders are of Aboriginal ancestry.
INSTITUTIONAL VIOLENCE AND INVESTIGATIONS OF INMATE INJURY
One of the key legal responsibilities of the federal correctional system is to ensure
that inmates serve their sentences in a safe and secure environment. For years,
this Office has expressed concern regarding the extent to which the Correctional
Service provides such an environment. The overall level of violence in penitentiaries
remains unacceptably high. And the Correctional Service continues with alarming
frequency to manage its penitentiaries with an overreliance on use of force and
segregation to resolve disputes and tensions. Experience demonstrates that other
mechanisms such as positive, ongoing interactions with offenders and alternative
dispute resolution can in many instances prevent institutional violence.
The overall level of violence in penitentiaries remains unacceptably high.
Moreover, the lack of mental health services aggravates the situation. Too many
vulnerable offenders suffering from mental illnesses are subject to abuse by predatory
offenders while many more unnecessarily become the subject of use of force.
In the past year, the Correctional Service reported using force approximately a
thousand times (967), a significant increase from the previous year (798). The ratios
of use of force per inmate vary across the country, and are the lowest in the Ontario
and the Prairies regions (one use of force to every 22.3 and 21.5 offenders, respectively).
The highest ratios are found in the Maritimes, Quebec and the Pacific regions (one
use of force to every 9.7, 11.6 and 11.9 offenders, respectively).
Most of the interventions using force are conducted at maximum-security institutions,
but again striking differences in approach exist. For example, when considering
use of force, Institutional Emergency Response Teams are used 56 per cent of the
time in one maximum-security institution, whereas they are used only 13 per cent
of the time in another maximum-security institution. Furthermore, use of force interventions
rely on pepper spray (e.g., Oleoresin Capsicum) 66.5 per cent of the time in one
maximum-security institution, but only 22 per cent of the time at another maximum-security
institution.
Some penitentiaries clearly rely much more on use of force, whereas other penitentiaries
appear to be managing offenders using less restrictive alternatives. These discrepancies
need to be reviewed by the Correctional Service to ensure consistency and compliance
with legal and policy requirements for use of force.
The thoroughness and timeliness of the investigative process into serious injury
or death of offenders under section 19 of the Corrections and Conditional Release
Act have been an issue for this Office for several years. Our most recent
concerns have centred on the timely convening of investigations, on the timeliness
of a meaningful analysis of completed investigation reports, and on approval by
the Correctional Service's Executive Committee of recommendations and action plans
developed in response to national investigative reports. As well, we note that,
as of March 31, 2006, Correctional Service had not responded to 11 provincial coroners'
reports on inmate suicides, some of which date back to 2001.
The number of injuries among inmates continues to be of grave concern. The Correctional
Service continues to lack reliable and valid data on inmate injuries. For example,
I have in past years received reports labelling suicides as minor injuries, and
continue to receive quarterly reports on inmate injuries that cannot be reconciled
with data from previous years or other sources. Moreover, limited analysis is conducted
by the Correctional Service on the information provided to develop strategies to
prevent future injuries and deaths.
Of further concern has been the ability of the Correctional Service to identify
injuries that did not fit their definition of "serious bodily injury" and to demonstrate
that these incidents were being appropriately reviewed. Where information is being
gathered, a clear analysis of the causes of violence and injuries continues to be
lacking. The report entitled A Health Care Needs Assessment of Federal Inmates in
Canada (April 2004) noted that "injuries were common among inmates" and
that a significant number of the injuries were "due to altercations or were self-inflicted."
The report further identifies within the section on "Areas of Further Knowledge
Development" the requirement to have accurate "rates of inmate injuries and contributing
factors."
The number of injuries among inmates continues to be of grave concern. The
Correctional Service continues to lack reliable and valid data on inmate injuries.
In response to these concerns, the Correctional Service committed last year to "the
development of a corporate strategy to assist in the production of quality analytical
quarterly reports" on inmate injuries and institutional violence. Although institutional
violence has been identified as a priority area by the Correctional Service, we
have been presented with no evidence of either consistent, accurate information
collection or analysis.
The absence of reliable information and delays in the investigative process hinder
the Correctional Service's ability to review and take appropriate decisions in limiting
inmate injuries and institutional violence.
8. I recommend that the Correctional Service establish a timely approval
process by its Executive Committee for the development of action plans in response
to investigative reports into incidents of inmate deaths or major injuries. In no
case should this process exceed six months from the date of the incident.
9. I recommend that the Correctional Service collect accurate information
and conduct comprehensive analyses of all inmate injuries to significantly improve
its ability to take appropriate action to limit inmate injuries and institutional
violence and that this information be verified semi-annually as part of on-going
internal audits.
INMATE GRIEVANCES, ALLEGATIONS OF HARASSMENT AND STAFF MISCONDUCT
The Corrections and Conditional Release Act requires the Correctional Service
to establish "a procedure for fairly and expeditiously resolving offenders' grievances."
I concluded in last year's Annual Report that the existing procedure was dysfunctional
in terms of expeditiously resolving offender grievances, most notably at the national
level. I presented two recommendations at the time:
(a) I recommend that the Service take immediate steps to overhaul its operations
and policies in the area of inmate grievances to ensure fair and expeditious resolution
of offenders' complaints and grievances. The review should include a specific focus
on addressing harassment and staff misconduct grievances.
(b) I recommend that an external consultant be retained to assist the Service's
review of its operations and policy to ensure fair and expeditious resolution of
offenders' complaints and grievances, and to improve its use of evidence-based strategies
to ensure consistency in addressing areas of offender concern.
While the Correctional Service initially "agreed" with these recommendations, the
national review of the offender redress process was conducted internally. A final
report on the review was produced in May 2006. The report acknowledges that the
present operations "are not meeting statutory requirements," but to date an action
plan to reasonably address this matter has not been finalized.
In 1998, the Correctional Service extended the timeframes within the offender grievance
process "to better reflect the time required to respond." This Office raised concerns
at the time indicating that such an extension was inconsistent with the Correctional
Service's commitment to "an effective, timely redress process for offenders." During
the fiscal year 2005-06, only 15 per cent of the grievances responded to at the
Commissioner's level were within these expanded timeframes.
The Correctional Service introduced a revised procedure three years ago in an attempt
to reasonably address offender harassment complaints. This was seven years after
Madame Justice Arbour recommended the "immediate" development and introduction of
a responsive policy. The issues pertaining to harassment grievances have been repeatedly
raised as a key priority in our annual reports and the most recent 2003 report from
the Canadian Human Rights Commission. While the Correctional Service would appear
to have finally developed a reasonable harassment policy, we are extremely concerned
that so little progress has been made in ensuring operational compliance with the
policy and legal provisions in such a key priority area.
10. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately comply with its
legal obligations and establish "a procedure for fairly and expeditiously resolving
all offenders' grievances."
11. I recommend that within one year the Correctional Service provide evidence
that complaint and grievance statistics are being used to identify and address areas
of systemic offender concerns.
CASE PREPARATION AND ACCESS TO PROGRAMS
This Office initially raised the issue of delayed case preparation and access to
programs in its Annual Report 1988-89. The focus at that time was on the increasing
inability of the Correctional Service to prepare the cases of offenders in a thorough
and timely fashion for conditional release consideration. It was evident from our
review of the complaints received that a significant number of these delays were
directly related to the Correctional Service being unable to provide the required
assessments and treatment programming in advance of the offender's scheduled parole
hearing dates. Eighteen years later, these issues have yet to be adequately addressed.
In an attempt to address some of our recommendations, a joint working group involving
the Correctional Service of Canada, the National Parole Board and the Office of
the Correctional Investigator was established and in December 2004 issued a document
entitled Report on Factors Causing Delays in National Parole Board Reviews.
The report of this joint review provided concrete recommendations to facilitate
timely reviews by the National Parole Board. It also recommended ensuring that offenders
appearing before the Board receive the assistance and programs they need for their
eventual safe community reintegration. I recommended in last year's Annual report
that the Correctional Service "immediately develop a responsive action plan to implement
the recommendations of the Joint Review Committee Report." Although the Correctional
Service "agreed" with the recommendation, no action plan has been approved.
My recommendation this year will therefore focus on outcomes, in the hope that the
Correctional Service will make significant and quantifiable progress
to improve timely case preparation and access to programs.
12. I recommend that in the next year the Correctional Service:
- significantly increase the number of offenders appearing before the
National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates;
- significantly reduce waiting lists for programs included in correctional
plans to maximize safe and timely reintegration;
- increase timely access to programs and services that will significantly
reduce the time spent in medium and maximum security institutions; and,
- significantly increase the number of unescorted temporary absences and
work releases, which have drastically declined in recent years and yet have a very
high success rate.
ONGOING AREAS OF CONCERN
- Population Management
- Young Offenders
- Elderly Offenders
- Inmate Finances
- Compassionate Temporary Absences
- Classification of Offenders Serving Life Sentences
- Inmate Access to Computers
ONGOING AREAS OF CONCERNS
POPULATION MANAGEMENT
After years of calls for fundamental reforms, the Correctional Service continues
to place offenders in administrative segregation and other more restrictive environments
as its main tool for resolving disputes and tensions in penitentiaries.
Madame Justice Arbour's 1996 report concluded that "the management of administrative
segregation that I have observed is inconsistent with the Charter culture which
permeates other branches of the administration of the criminal justice."
She went on to say: "I see no alternative to current overuse of prolonged segregation
but to recommend that it be placed under the control and supervision of the courts.
Failing a willingness to put segregation under judicial supervision, I would recommend
that segregation decisions made at an institutional level be subject to confirmation
within five days by an independent adjudicator."
Over the last 10 years, several other internal and external reports8 have all observed similar fairness and non-compliance
issues as those highlighted in the Arbour Report. They have made comparable recommendations
calling for the independent adjudication of segregation cases. Yet, the Correctional
Service has consistently rejected independent adjudication and continues to this
day to argue that an enhanced internal segregation review process can achieve fairness
and compliance with the rule of law.
On May 8, 2006, the Commissioner responded to my recommendation to introduce independent
adjudication of administrative segregation decisions in last year's Annual Report.
He informed me that at this time, instead of independent adjudication, the Correctional
Service will introduce a number of new initiatives, including an internal audit,
to strengthen compliance with policy and enhance fairness.
I welcome any initiative that will improve this situation, but I strongly believe
that independent adjudication of segregation is necessary to ensure fair and unbiased
hearings. It is also important in ensuring compliance with the Correctional Service's
statutory framework, protection of prisoners' access to institutional programs and
services during segregation, and the implementation of reintegration plans to ensure
that the correctional authorities, in administering the sentence, use the least
restrictive measures.
As the Correctional Service continues to attempt to improve its internal processes,
the situation of segregated offenders continues to deteriorate. In the last three
years, the number of voluntary segregated offenders who spent more than 90 days
in segregation has tripled. Over the same period, the number of involuntary segregated
offenders who spent more than 90 days in segregation has doubled.
As the Correctional Service continues to attempt to improve its internal
processes, the situation of segregated offenders continues to deteriorate.
As I indicated in my last Annual Report, this Office has in recent years witnessed
a "widening of the net" of restrictive forms of custody. The Corrections and Conditional
Release Act refers to only two types of incarceration: the general inmate
population and segregated inmates. The law precisely stipulates the rights and entitlements
of each of those two populations, and describes rigorous procedural fairness for
placements in administrative segregation. For example, this includes notices, reviews,
hearings, regular visits by heads of institutions and health care.
Over the years, the Correctional Service has introduced a multitude of different
offender sub-populations (e.g., transition units) that fall in-between those two
legally defined populations. Many offenders now serve a significant part of their
penitentiary sentence in these more restrictive units without benefiting from a
pro-active reintegration strategy and formal regular reviews as legally afforded
to offenders in administrative segregation.
In response to our recommendation last year on this matter, the Correctional Service
committed to undertake a review to ensure that existing units are in compliance
with law and policy. The results of that review, which was to be finalized by March
2006, are currently in draft form and have yet to be presented to the Correctional
Service's senior management.
13. I recommend that in the coming year the Correctional Service:
- proactively implement the least restrictive options and significantly
reduce the overall number of placements in administrative segregation;
- significantly reduce the average length of stay in administrative segregation;
and,
- significantly reduce the time to effect intra- and interregional transfers.
14. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately implement reasonable
procedural safeguards for any offender confined in any situation that is not within
the general inmate population, and ensure legal compliance with offenders' rights,
entitlements and access to programs.
15. I recommend that the Minister play a leadership role by requesting that
the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security
examine the implementation of independent adjudication of administrative segregation
decisions when it considers other amendments of the Corrections and Conditional
Release Act.
YOUNG OFFENDERS
This Office has often pointed out that the Correctional Service does not meet the
special service and program needs of inmates aged 20 and younger. These younger
offenders, numbering up to 400 at any given time, very often find themselves in
disadvantaged situations - segregation, abuse by other inmates, limited access to
and success in programming, gang affiliations, and delayed conditional release.
Available data also indicate that Aboriginal offenders are significantly over-represented
among younger offenders. For example, on May 9, 2006, there were 343 incarcerated
offenders aged 20 and younger - 96 or 28 per cent of them were Aboriginal. The situation
in the Prairies Region was most problematic as 58 per cent (72 out of 125) of offenders
aged 20 and younger were Aboriginal.
Younger offenders...very often find themselves in disadvantaged situations
- segregation, abuse by other inmates, limited access to and success in programming,
gang affiliations, and delayed conditional release.
The Correctional Service does not provide special housing, programming or other
services for younger offenders. While the Correctional Service's position is that
programs available to all inmates can be adapted to meet the needs of younger offenders,
the reality is that these young men and women continue to find themselves in the
disadvantaged situations described above.
My recommendation this year focuses on outcomes, in the hope that the Correctional
Service will make significant and quantifiable progress to improve
the disadvantaged situation of younger offenders.
16. I recommend that within one year the Correctional Service:
- develop and implement new policies, programs and services specifically
to meet the unique needs of offenders aged 20 and younger that will significantly
reduce their time spent in maximum and medium-security institutions, and in administrative
segregation; and,
- develop and implement programs and services designed to meet the unique
needs of offenders aged 20 and younger that will significantly increase their timely
and safe reintegration into the community.
ELDERLY OFFENDERS
Elderly offenders represent a large and growing special needs group within the federal
inmate population. The Correctional Service completed a comprehensive internal review
in 2000 which identified a wide range of areas that needed to be addressed so as
to reasonably meet the needs of this population. At the time, the Correctional Service
considered the situation such a priority that it established a new division with
the specific mandate to address issues associated with accommodation, palliative
care, reintegration options and program development.
In its March/April 2004 edition, the Canadian Journal of Public Health
published "A Health Care Needs Assessment of Federal Inmates in Canada". It noted
that there had been a 60 per cent increase in the number of inmates aged 50 and
over with an 87 per cent increase in those aged 65 and over since 1993. The Report
underlined the requirement for greater information on and specific attention to
the health care needs of this growing segment of the inmate population.
Unfortunately, the challenging situation described in the internal Correctional
Service's 2000 report and the 2004 report of the Canadian Journal of Public Health
has not changed - in fact, it has further deteriorated as the number of elderly
offenders continues to increase.
17. I recommend that Correctional Service respond to the special needs of
elderly offenders and significantly improve key areas including accommodation, program
development, palliative care, and reintegration options.
INMATE FINANCES
It has been close to 20 years since inmate allowances for work and program participation
have been increased. This has drastically reduced their ability to purchase items
inside institutions. We believe this has contributed to the violence that can accompany
competition for increasingly scarce commodities in prison. In some regions, a lack
of employment has exacerbated inmates' lack of access to funds. As well, there has
been a general reduction in pay levels that inmates receive for participation in
work and other programs. Low inmate allowances for work and program participation
have adversely affected the amount of money that offenders can use to facilitate
their integration into society during the initial phase of release.
The history of inmate pay provides a good indication of the inadequacy of today's
inmate allowances for work and program participation. In 1981, the Cabinet Committee
on Social Development approved a new inmate pay program. With the assistance of
Statistics Canada, it calculated the rates of inmate pay, and the maximum pay rate
was set at $7.55 per day. Today, the maximum inmate pay rate is $6.90 per day. In
1981, the Correctional Service created a "typical" inmate "canteen basket" to monitor
the costs of the products that are mostly purchased by inmates. In 1981, the "canteen
basket" cost $8.49. The same basket now costs $61.59 - or 725 per cent more than
in 1981.
18. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately increase inmate
allowances for work and program participation. I further recommend that, from this
time forward, inmate allowances be indexed to the rate of inflation.
COMPASSIONATE TEMPORARY ABSENCES
The Corrections and Conditional Release Act provides for escorted temporary
absences for compassionate reasons to allow inmates to attend to "urgent matters
affecting the members of their immediate family or other persons with whom the inmates
have a close personal relationship." In most instances, inmates request compassionate
temporary absences to visit a dying family member and/or attend a funeral.
In the last two years, this Office received a small number of complaints about the
Correctional Service's denial of compassionate temporary absences. In these cases,
this Office believes that the Correctional Service failed to apply its discretionary
authority in accordance with its legal obligations.
In some cases, we disagreed with the Correctional Service's interpretation
of "members of the inmate's immediate family or other persons with whom the inmate
has a close personal relationship." Recent policy changes also require that the
inmate now choose between either visiting a dying relative or close friend or attending
their funeral. At a time of despair and sorrow, I believe that requiring a person
to make this kind of choice lacks compassion, an essential element of the legal
requirement.
Moreover, we are concerned that administrative delays in coordinating the logistics
of compassionate temporary absences have prevented some offenders from attending
funerals. In those situations, the Correctional Service has taken the position that,
if a funeral is missed because of administrative delays, logistics or weather, inmates
are no longer eligible under the policy because the matter is no longer "urgent."
Furthermore, Aboriginal and women offenders are unduly affected by this position
because they are more often incarcerated further from their home communities. Again,
I consider that this position lacks the essential requirement of demonstrating compassion.
19. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately:
- amend its policy requiring that inmates choose between either
visiting a dying member of their immediate family or other persons with whom inmates
have a close personal relationship or attending their funeral; and,
- expedite the consideration of requests for compassionate temporary absences,
and allow for a visit to the gravesite or with family members should circumstances
make attendance at the funeral impossible.
CLASSIFICATION OF OFFENDERS SERVING LIFE SENTENCES
On February 23, 2001, the Correctional Service issued Policy Bulletin No. 107.
It requires that federally sentenced offenders serving a minimum life sentence for
first- or second-degree murder be classified as maximum security for at least the
first two years of federal incarceration. Since its introduction, I have considered
this policy to be illegal and have recommended that it be rescinded immediately.
I have not been alone in my assessment. In its special 2003 report, the Canadian
Human Rights Commission concluded that "adding a retributive element to the carrying
out of the sentence is not rationally related to the legitimate purpose of assessing
risk. It is in fact contrary to the intent of both the Corrections and Conditional
Release Act and the Canadian Human Rights Act." The Commission
recommended that the Correctional Service immediately revoke its two-year policy.
Numerous other stakeholders, including the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry
Societies, the St. Leonard's Society of Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, and
the Church Council on Justice and Corrections have expressed similar concern about
this policy.
In September 2005, the Correctional Service amended its two-year policy to allow
wardens to exercise their discretion to override the rating produced by the Custody
Rating Scale. This amendment to the policy has affected placement practices, but,
in our opinion, this procedural change did not alter the legality of the policy.
20. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately subject all federally-sentenced
offenders to an individualized security classification process as required by law
and regulations.
INMATE ACCESS TO COMPUTERS
In 2003, the Correctional Service decided to prohibit the further introduction of
computers to individual cells, based upon its review of reports on a series of incidents
involving misuse of in-cell computers. The Correctional Service then increased inmate
access to a limited number of computers in designated common areas outside cells.
This Office, inmates and a number of community stakeholders voiced concerns about
the necessity for the measures taken and the serious impact of reducing access to
computers on offender programs, reintegration and personal uses such as litigation
or recreation.
The supply of computers for centralized use shows no sign of growing sufficiently
to meet needs, as more and more offenders enter the system without access to their
own computer. Pressures on the current use of institutional computers for programs
and employment also continue to increase.
In October 2004, the Correctional Service established an advisory committee to examine
how it could improve inmate access to computers. The committee has yet to complete
its final report and to present its recommendations to the Correctional Service's
Executive Committee.
21. I recommend that the Correctional Service:
- establish a reasonable ratio of computers to inmates in designated areas
outside cells available for inmate use; and,
- allow inmates to have computers for in-cell use.
CONCLUSION
The Correctional Service has demonstrated progress in a limited number of areas
since my last Annual Report. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight
areas where our investigative staff have reported some improvements and achievements.
These include:
- the range of Aboriginal-specific programs continues to expand and new innovative
programs have been established;
- the Correctional Service completed an employment needs survey for both incarcerated
women and women on conditional release. It has also committed to develop an employment
strategy for women offenders;
- more Aboriginal offenders are now accessing healing lodges;
- the Correctional Service approved a new governance structure for Health Services,
which may help to ensure that health care funding is not diverted to address correctional
funding pressures;
- the Women Offender Sector has initiated a bi-annual review of offender grievances
to ensure that systemic areas of concern are identified and consistently addressed;
and,
- although there are unreasonable delays in convening Correctional Service investigations
into serious injury or death of inmates, the quality of the investigative reports
once completed has shown significant improvement over the last reporting period.
It is my sincere hope that the Correctional Service will significantly add to the
above list of achievements in the coming year by fully addressing this year's recommendations.
This year's report makes it very clear as to what the Correctional Service needs
to do to improve its legal and policy compliance. We look forward to working collaboratively
as the Correctional Service addresses the many issues listed in this year's report.
The coming year will be challenging as several factors may influence the ability
of the Correctional Service to respond to its pressing issues. New criminal justice
policy may be implemented with the net effect of increasing prison populations.
From our experience and the available research, the Correctional Service will be
unable to meet its legislative mandate if such an increase is not paired with significant
investments in reintegration initiatives, programming and health care services.
Two additional broad policy issues are of concern to this Office: Canada's endorsement
of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and the situation
of national security detainees.
First, the protocol was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December
2002. Canada was a member of the group that drafted it and voted in favour of its
adoption. The protocol establishes a system of regular visits undertaken by independent
international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty,
in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
In my last Annual Report 2004-05, I encouraged the Canadian Government to yet again
demonstrate its leadership by signing and ratifying this important human rights
instrument. Moving quickly on signature and ratification would add to Canada's long
historical tradition of promoting and defending human rights at home and abroad.
It would also provide an opportunity to review the role and mandate of oversight
agencies involved in the monitoring and inspections of "places of detention" and
strengthen oversight mechanisms where required.
The second policy issue that concerns my Office is the situation of individuals
detained pursuant to national security certificates. A national security certificate
is a removal order issued by the Government of Canada against permanent residents
and foreign nationals who are inadmissible to Canada on grounds of national security.
A recent decision has been made by the federal government to transfer security certificate
detainees held under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act from Ontario facilities
to a federal facility, pending their removal from Canada.
In Ontario facilities, the detainees could legally file complaints regarding conditions
of confinement with the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman. That Office had the jurisdiction
to investigate complaints filed by the detainees pursuant to the Ontario Ombudsman
Act.
The Immigration Holding Centre has been built in Kingston within the perimeter fence
of Millhaven Penitentiary. The Canadian Border Service Agency entered into a service
contract with the Correctional Service to provide the Border Service Agency with
the physical detention facility and with security staff. The Border Service Agency
has a contract in place with the Red Cross to monitor the care and treatment of
detainees in immigration holding centres, including the new Kingston holding centre.
The Red Cross, a non-government organization, has no enabling legislation to carry
out a role as an oversight agency.
The transfer of detainees from Ontario facilities to the Kingston holding centre
means that the detainees will lose the benefit of a rigorous ombudsman's legislative
framework to file complaints about their care and humane treatment while in custody.
The Office of the Correctional Investigator is concerned that the detainees will
no longer have the benefits and legal protections afforded by ombudsman legislation.
Pursuant to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, a non-profit
organization with no legislative framework, such as the Red Cross, is unlikely to
meet the protocol's requirement for domestic oversight.
On a final note, I would like to report on my commitment in last year's Annual Report
to enhance this Office's citizen engagement and information activities, and to comment
on emerging areas of focus.
This past year my Office has been involved in a record number of outreach activities.
We have formally consulted with a number of non-governmental organizations, mental
health organizations and experts, community groups, and organizations representing
Aboriginal People and visible minorities. I have also increased my involvement with
the media and my participation in public events to enhance the understanding of
my role and responsibilities as Canada's federal prison ombudsman. My staff and
I have written many articles which have been reproduced in a variety of publications.
These activities have resulted in increased opportunities for public recognition
of the benefits of independent prison oversight.
As for next year's focus, I am increasingly concerned about the high number of deaths
and self-inflicted injuries in custody over the last decade. My Office is especially
concerned with the growing number of similar recommendations made year after year
by the Correctional Service's national investigations, provincial coroners and medical
examiners, and the ability of the Correctional Service to consistently implement
these recommendations across the country. A timely and systematic follow-up on corrective
actions is required to ensure that preventive measures are taken and result in a
lower incidence of self-inflicted injuries and deaths. Over the course of the next
year, my Office will conduct a comprehensive review of reports and recommendations
dealing with deaths and major injuries in custody, particularly suicides, and self-inflicted
injuries.
There is much to be done to make corrections in Canada more fair,
humane and effective but we are building from a solid foundation.
This Annual Report is the result of a dialogue between my Office, the Correctional
Service, offenders and other stakeholders. By its very nature, it is a critical
assessment and highlights problems, not successes. Readers are cautioned against
concluding that corrections in Canada is a failed enterprise - it is not. There
is much to be done to make corrections in Canada more fair, humane and effective
but we are building from a solid foundation.
Many thanks to all those, particularly my staff, who have helped me meet my mandate
over the last year.
ANNEX A: STATISTICS
TABLE A: COMPLAINTS (1) BY CATEGORY
|
CATEGORY
|
CASE TYPE
|
|
|
I/R (2)
|
INV (3)
|
TOTAL
|
|
|
|
Administrative Segregation
|
|
|
|
|
Conditions
|
16
|
87
|
103
|
|
Placement/Review
|
121
|
243
|
364
|
|
Total
|
137
|
330
|
467
|
|
|
|
Case Preparation
|
|
|
|
|
Conditional Release
|
64
|
134
|
198
|
|
Post Suspension
|
17
|
18
|
35
|
|
Temporary Absence
|
21
|
28
|
49
|
|
Transfer
|
62
|
66
|
128
|
|
Total
|
164
|
246
|
410
|
|
|
|
Cell Effects
|
193
|
424
|
617
|
|
Cell Placement
|
42
|
76
|
118
|
|
|
|
Claims Against the Crown
|
|
|
|
|
Decisions
|
14
|
17
|
31
|
|
Processing
|
16
|
14
|
60
|
|
Total
|
30
|
31
|
61
|
|
|
|
Community Programs/Supervision
|
9
|
11
|
20
|
|
Conditions of Confinement
|
161
|
266
|
427
|
|
Correspondence
|
31
|
48
|
79
|
|
Death or Serious Injury
|
2
|
13
|
15
|
|
Decisions (General) - Implementation
|
26
|
23
|
49
|
|
|
|
Diet
|
|
|
|
|
Medical
|
5
|
33
|
38
|
|
Religious
|
12
|
19
|
31
|
|
Total
|
17
|
52
|
69
|
|
|
|
Discipline
|
|
|
|
|
ICP Decisions
|
14
|
4
|
18
|
|
Minor Court Decisions
|
10
|
13
|
23
|
|
Procedures
|
12
|
30
|
42
|
|
Total
|
36
|
47
|
83
|
|
|
|
Discrimination
|
11
|
8
|
19
|
|
Employment
|
61
|
88
|
149
|
|
|
|
File Information
|
|
|
|
|
Access - Disclosure
|
58
|
75
|
133
|
|
Correction
|
92
|
59
|
151
|
|
Total
|
150
|
134
|
284
|
|
|
|
Financial Matters
|
|
|
|
|
Access
|
48
|
78
|
126
|
|
Pay
|
62
|
87
|
149
|
|
Total
|
110
|
165
|
275
|
|
|
|
Food Services
|
17
|
38
|
55
|
|
Grievance Procedure
|
101
|
192
|
293
|
|
Harassment
|
12
|
17
|
29
|
|
Health and Safety - Worksite
|
9
|
5
|
14
|
|
Ion Scan/Drug Dog
|
9
|
16
|
25
|
|
|
|
Health Care
|
|
|
|
|
Access
|
104
|
388
|
492
|
|
Decisions
|
101
|
279
|
380
|
|
Dental
|
12
|
29
|
41
|
|
Total
|
217
|
696
|
913
|
|
|
|
Mental Health
|
|
|
|
|
Access
|
9
|
34
|
43
|
|
Programs
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
|
Total
|
9
|
37
|
46
|
|
|
|
Methadone
|
15
|
45
|
60
|
|
Official Languages
|
5
|
6
|
11
|
|
Operation/Decisions of the
OCI
|
51
|
14
|
65
|
|
|
|
Programs
|
|
|
|
|
Access
|
75
|
146
|
211
|
|
Quality/Content
|
34
|
36
|
70
|
|
Total
|
109
|
182
|
291
|
|
|
|
Release Procedures
|
29
|
31
|
60
|
|
Safety/Security of Offender(s)
|
61
|
138
|
199
|
|
Search and Seizure
|
32
|
47
|
79
|
|
Security Classification
|
85
|
142
|
227
|
|
Sentence Administration - Calculation
|
34
|
38
|
72
|
|
Staff Responsiveness
|
170
|
193
|
363
|
|
Telephone
|
57
|
138
|
195
|
|
Temporary Absence Decision
|
23
|
57
|
80
|
|
|
|
Transfer
|
|
|
|
|
Implementation
|
58
|
110
|
168
|
|
Involuntary
|
75
|
101
|
176
|
|
Pen Placement
|
26
|
31
|
57
|
|
Voluntary
|
98
|
114
|
212
|
|
Total
|
257
|
356
|
613
|
|
|
|
Urinalysis
|
9
|
13
|
22
|
|
Use of Force
|
3
|
30
|
33
|
|
|
|
Visits
|
|
|
|
|
General
|
84
|
178
|
262
|
|
Private Family Visits
|
38
|
84
|
122
|
|
Total
|
122
|
262
|
384
|
|
|
|
Outside Terms of Reference
|
|
|
|
|
Parole Decisions
|
234
|
---
|
234
|
|
Other Issues
|
86
|
---
|
86
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GRAND TOTAL
|
2,936
|
4,655
|
7,591
|
(1) See Glossary
(2) I/R: Immediate Response - see Glossary
(3) INV: Investigation - see Glossary
GLOSSARY
Complaint: Complaints may be made by an offender or on behalf of
an offender by telephone, facsimile, letter and during interviews held by the OCI's investigative
staff at federal correctional facilities.
Internal Response: A response provided to a complainant that does
not require consultation with any sources of information outside the
OCI.
Investigation: A contact where an inquiry is made to the Correctional
Service and/or documentation is reviewed/analyzed by the
OCI's
investigative staff before the information or assistance sought by the offender
is provided.
Investigations vary considerably in terms of their scope, complexity, duration and
resources required. While some issues may be addressed relatively quickly, others
require a comprehensive review of documentation, numerous interviews and extensive
correspondence with the various levels of management at the Correctional Service
of Canada prior to being finalized.
TABLE B: COMPLAINTS BY INSTITUTION
|
Region/Institution
|
Number of contacts
|
Number of
interviews
|
Number of days
spent in
institution
|
|
|
|
WOMEN'S FACILITIES
|
|
|
|
|
Edmonton Women's Facility
|
114
|
35
|
7
|
|
Fraser Valley
|
43
|
14
|
3
|
|
Grand Valley
|
122
|
28
|
6
|
|
Isabel McNeill House
|
5
|
2
|
0.5
|
|
Joliette
|
92
|
13
|
4.5
|
|
Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge
|
8
|
2
|
1
|
|
Nova
|
69
|
15
|
4.5
|
|
Regional Psychiatric Centre (Prairies)
|
6
|
3
|
3
|
|
Total
|
459
|
112
|
28.5
|
|
|
|
ATLANTIC
|
|
|
|
|
Atlantic
|
217
|
62
|
8
|
|
Dorchester
|
256
|
68
|
9.5
|
|
Shepody Healing Centre
|
29
|
14
|
2
|
|
Springhill
|
147
|
52
|
6.5
|
|
Westmorland
|
44
|
12
|
2
|
|
Region Total
|
693
|
208
|
28
|
|
|
|
ONTARIO
|
|
|
|
|
Bath
|
221
|
93
|
12
|
|
Beaver Creek
|
8
|
1
|
1.5
|
|
Collins Bay
|
126
|
43
|
7.5
|
|
Fenbrook
|
118
|
29
|
3.5
|
|
Frontenac
|
44
|
6
|
3
|
|
Joyceville
|
238
|
45
|
10
|
|
Kingston Penitentiary
|
319
|
82
|
8.5
|
|
Millhaven
|
166
|
55
|
7
|
|
Pittsburgh
|
28
|
2
|
2
|
|
Regional Treatment Centre
|
50
|
42
|
4
|
|
Warkworth
|
246
|
54
|
9
|
|
Region Total
|
1,564
|
452
|
68
|
|
|
|
PACIFIC
|
|
|
|
|
Ferndale
|
31
|
10
|
2
|
|
Kent
|
388
|
99
|
13
|
|
Kwikwèxwelhp
|
11
|
3
|
1
|
|
Matsqui
|
65
|
21
|
6
|
|
Mission
|
198
|
70
|
10
|
|
Mountain
|
304
|
113
|
13
|
|
Pacific & RTC
|
197
|
74
|
11
|
|
William Head
|
21
|
25
|
4
|
|
Region Total
|
1,193
|
415
|
60
|
|
|
|
PRAIRIE
|
|
|
|
|
Bowden
|
240
|
93
|
11.5
|
|
Drumheller
|
190
|
89
|
12
|
|
Edmonton
|
302
|
68
|
12
|
|
Grande Cache
|
52
|
14
|
2
|
|
Pê Sâkâstêw Centre
|
12
|
4
|
2
|
|
Regional Psychiatric Centre
|
94
|
35
|
6
|
|
Riverbend
|
10
|
4
|
1
|
|
Rockwood
|
14
|
4
|
2
|
|
Saskatchewan Penitentiary
|
227
|
77
|
12
|
|
Stan Daniels
|
8
|
6
|
2
|
|
Stony Mountain
|
271
|
105
|
12
|
|
Willow Cree
|
8
|
7
|
2
|
|
Region Total
|
1,428
|
250
|
76.5
|
|
|
|
QUEBEC
|
|
|
|
|
Archambault
|
250
|
151
|
11
|
|
Cowansville
|
245
|
122
|
14.5
|
|
Donnacona
|
218
|
90
|
15
|
|
Drummond
|
170
|
111
|
11.5
|
|
Federal Training Centre
|
112
|
28
|
3
|
|
La Macaza
|
205
|
66
|
13.5
|
|
Leclerc
|
198
|
110
|
9
|
|
Montée St-François
|
39
|
20
|
5
|
|
Port Cartier
|
391
|
222
|
15
|
|
Regional Reception Centre/SHU Québec
|
169
|
66
|
10
|
|
Ste-Anne des Plaines
|
20
|
3
|
1
|
|
Region Total
|
2,017
|
989
|
108.5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GRAND TOTAL
|
7,354
|
2,426
|
369.5
|
TABLE C: COMPLAINTS AND INMATE POPULATION - BY REGION
|
Region
|
Total Number
of Complaints (*)
|
Inmate
Population (**)
|
|
|
|
Atlantic
|
792
|
1,397
|
|
Québec
|
2,169
|
3,321
|
|
Ontario
|
1,751
|
3,603
|
|
Prairies
|
1,586
|
3,293
|
|
Pacific
|
1,225
|
1,956
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
7,523
|
13,570
|
(*) Excludes 68 contacts from provincial institutions.
(**) As of March 2006, according to the Correctional Service of Canada's Corporate
Reporting System.
TABLE D: DISPOSITION OF CONTACTS BY CASE TYPE
|
Case Type
|
Disposition
|
Number of Complaints
|
|
|
|
|
|
Internal Response
|
Information given
|
2,004
|
|
|
Referral
|
791
|
|
|
Withdrawn
|
141
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
2,936
|
|
|
|
|
|
Investigation
|
Information given
|
1,029
|
|
|
Not supported
|
359
|
|
|
Pending
|
313
|
|
|
Referral
|
749
|
|
|
Resolution facilitated
|
793
|
|
|
Withdrawn
|
187
|
|
|
Recommendation/
Significant Impact
|
1,225
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
4,655
|
|
|
|
|
|
GRAND TOTAL
|
|
7,591
|
TABLE E: AREAS OF CONCERN MOST FREQUENTLY IDENTIFIED BY OFFENDERS
|
|
|
TOTAL OFFENDER POPULATION
|
|
Health Care
|
913
|
|
Cell Effects
|
617
|
|
Transfer
|
613
|
|
Administrative Segregation
|
467
|
|
Conditions of Confinement
|
427
|
|
Case Preparation
|
410
|
|
Visits and Private Family Visits
|
384
|
|
Staff Responsiveness
|
363
|
|
Grievance Procedure
|
293
|
|
Programs/Services
|
291
|
|
|
|
ABORIGINAL OFFENDERS
|
|
Transfer
|
108
|
|
Health Care
|
84
|
|
Administrative Segregation
|
82
|
|
Cell Effects
|
68
|
|
Case Preparation
|
61
|
|
Staff Responsiveness
|
57
|
|
Conditions of Confinement
|
55
|
|
Visits and Private Family Visits
|
52
|
|
Programs/Services
|
48
|
|
Telephone
|
36
|
|
|
|
WOMEN OFFENDERS
|
|
Health Care
|
66
|
|
Conditions of Confinement
|
29
|
|
Staff Responsiveness
|
26
|
|
Safety/Security of Offender
|
25
|
|
Cell Effects
|
24
|
|
Case Preparation
|
24
|
|
Administrative Segregation
|
23
|
|
File Information (Access, Correction and Disclosure)
|
23
|
|
Transfer
|
24
|
|
Security Classification
|
20
|
ANNEX B: SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
1. I recommend that the Correctional Service demonstrate compliance with its legal
obligation to provide every inmate with essential health care according to professionally
accepted standards, and that all institutional health care sites be accredited within
one year.
2. I recommend that the Correctional Service demonstrate compliance with its legal
obligation to provide every inmate with essential mental health care and reasonable
access to non-essential mental health care according to professionally accepted
standards, and that all mental health care units and regional treatment centres
be accredited within one year.
3. I again recommend that the Correctional Service take immediate steps to sensitize
and train all front-line staff to appropriately identify disruptive mental health
behaviour and respond accordingly.
4. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately implement a prison-based
needle exchange to ensure that inmates and society at large are best protected from
the spread of infectious diseases.
5. I recommend that, within one year, the Correctional Service:
- significantly increase all women offenders' access to meaningful employment
and employability programming;
- continue to significantly increase community accommodations and support services
for women offenders in underserved areas;
- review the daily operations and staffing of the women's secure units with a
view to eliminating "deadtime" and to significantly increasing timely access to
treatment, spiritual, academic and work programs;
- significantly increase the number of women offenders appearing before the National
Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates;
- build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and section 81 agreements
with Aboriginal communities;
- significantly improve access to culturally sensitive programming and services
for Aboriginal women who are currently imprisoned in the Atlantic, Quebec and Ontario
regions;
- review use of force incidents at women's facilities to ensure consistent compliance
with policy;
- establish firm targets ensuring all front-line staff receive refresher training
in women-centered approaches in accordance with the recommendation of the Canadian
Human Rights Commission; and,
- provide women-centered training to all community parole officers working with
women offenders.
6. I recommend that in the next year the Correctional Service:
- implement a security classification process that ends the over-classification
of Aboriginal offenders;
- increase timely access to programs and services that will significantly reduce
time spent in medium and maximum security institutions;
- significantly increase the number of Aboriginal offenders housed at minimum
security institutions;
- significantly increase the use of unescorted temporary absences and work releases;
- significantly increase the number of Aboriginal offenders appearing before the
National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates; and,
- build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and section 81 agreements
with Aboriginal communities.
7. I recommend that the Correctional Service significantly improve (above the required
employment equity level) the overall rate of its Aboriginal workforce at all levels
in institutions where a majority of offenders are of Aboriginal ancestry.
8. I recommend that the Correctional Service establish a timely approval process
by its Executive Committee for the development of action plans in response to investigative
reports into incidents of inmate deaths or major injuries. In no case should this
process exceed six months from the date of the incident.
9. I recommend that the Correctional Service collect accurate information and conduct
comprehensive analyses of all inmate injuries to significantly improve its ability
to take appropriate action to limit inmate injuries and institutional violence and
that this information be verified semi-annually as part of on-going internal audits.
10. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately comply with its legal
obligations and establish "a procedure for fairly and expeditiously resolving all
offenders' grievances."
11. I recommend that within one year the Correctional Service provide evidence that
complaint and grievance statistics are being used to identify and address areas
of systemic offender concerns.
12. I recommend that in the next year the Correctional Service:
- significantly increase the number of offenders appearing before the National
Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates;
- significantly reduce waiting lists for programs included in correctional plans
to maximize safe and timely reintegration;
- increase timely access to programs and services that will significantly reduce
the time spent in medium and maximum security institutions; and,
- significantly increase the number of unescorted temporary absences and work
releases, which have drastically declined in recent years and yet have a very high
success rate.
13. I recommend that in the coming year the Correctional Service:
- proactively implement the least restrictive options and significantly reduce
the overall number of placements in administrative segregation;
- significantly reduce the average length of stay in administrative segregation;
and,
- significantly reduce the time to effect intra-and inter-regional transfers.
14. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately implement reasonable procedural
safeguards for any offender confined in any situation that is not within the general
inmate population, and ensure legal compliance with offenders' rights, entitlements
and access to programs.
15. I recommend that the Minister play a leadership role by requesting that the
House of Commons' Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security examine
the implementation of independent adjudication of administrative segregation decisions
when it considers other amendments of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.
16. I recommend that within one year the Correctional Service:
- develop and implement new policies, programs and services specifically to meet
the unique needs of offenders aged 20 and younger that will significantly reduce
their time spent in maximum and medium-security institutions, and in administrative
segregation; and,
- develop and implement programs and services designed to meet the unique needs
of offenders aged 20 and younger that will significantly increase their timely and
safe reintegration into the community.
17. I recommend that Correctional Service respond to the special needs of elderly
offenders and significantly improve key areas including accommodation, program development,
palliative care, and reintegration options.
18. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately increase inmate allowances
for work and program participation. I further recommend that, from this time forward,
inmate allowances be indexed to the rate of inflation.
19. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately:
- amend its policy requiring that inmates choose between either visiting a dying
member of their immediate family or other persons with whom inmates have a close
personal relationship or attending their funeral; and,
- expedite the consideration of requests for compassionate temporary absences,
and allow for a visit to the gravesite or with family members should circumstances
make attendance at the funeral impossible.
20. I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately subject all federally-sentenced
offenders to an individualized security classification process as required by law
and regulations.
21. I recommend that the Correctional Service:
- establish a reasonable ratio of computers to inmates in designated areas outside
cells available for inmate use;
- and, allow inmates to have computers for in-cell use.
[1] Commission of Inquiry into Certain
Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston (1996).
[2] "Over-classification" refers
to housing offenders in institutions that are more secure than public safety warrants
- for example, placing someone in a maximum-security prison when medium security
would do.
[3] For example, see: Working Group
on Human Rights (chaired by Maxwell Yalden), 1997; House of Commons Standing Committee
on Justice and Human Rights, 2000; Cross-gender Monitoring Project Report, 2000;
Auditor General, 2003; Public Accounts Committee, 2003; and, Canadian Human Rights
Commission, 2004.
[4] "Deadtime" refers to a situation
where offenders have little to do when they should be involved in programs or other
activities.
[5] Sections 81 and 84 of the Corrections
and Conditional Release Act provide for the direct involvement of Aboriginal
communities in supporting timely conditional release.
[6] In 2003/04, approximately 19
per cent of adult custodial admissions (i.e., provincial jails and federal penitentiaries)
in Canada were Aboriginal. The average count of persons in custody in Canada was
32,000. The population of Aboriginal adults in Canada according to the 2001 census
was approximately 594,000. The population of non-Aboriginal adults in Canada according
to the 2001 census was approximately 22,064,000. The overall adult incarceration
rate in 2003/04 was 130 per 100,000 adults. The Aboriginal incarceration rate of
1,024 per 100,000 adults is only an estimate because admissions and counts are not
directly comparable because characteristics of counts data are weighted toward those
who are serving longer sentences. Nevertheless, at a very broad level, we know that
the percentage of Aboriginal admissions is of the same general order of magnitude
as the counts. Please note that for international comparisons, the incarceration
rate generally includes young offenders and is therefore based on the total population.
For example, Canada's incarceration is 108 (adult and youth) persons in custody
per 100,000 general population (Corrections and Conditional Release Statistical
Overview, 2005).
[7] Sections 81 and 84 of the Corrections
and Conditional Release Act provide for the direct involvement of Aboriginal
communities in supporting timely conditional release.
[8] These are the
CSC Task Force on Administrative Segregation in 1997; the Working
Group on Human Rights, chaired by Maxwell Yalden in 1997; the House of Commons Standing
Committee on Justice and Human Rights in 2000; the Cross-Gender Monitoring Report
in 2000; Justice Behind the Wall, by Michael Jackson in 2002; "The Litmus Test of
Legitimacy: Independent Adjudication and Administrative Segregation", by Michael
Jackson, Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Vol. 48,
Number 2, 2006, pp. 157-196; the Canadian Human Rights Commission in 2003; and,
the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada in 2004.
RESPONSE FROM THE CORRECTIONAL SERVICE OF CANADA TO THE 33RD ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR
2005-2006
INTRODUCTION
In Canada, the goal of the criminal justice system is to contribute to the maintenance
of a just, peaceful and safe society. As the federal agency that manages Canadian
penitentiaries and supervises federal offenders on conditional release in the community,
the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC)
plays an important role in contributing to public safety.
Research has shown that, for nearly all offenders, the best way to achieve public
safety is the successful reintegration of offenders into society, through a gradual
release using effective programming, support and supervision. To achieve these results,
CSC must focus on actively
encouraging and assisting offenders to become law-abiding citizens while it exercises
reasonable, safe, secure and humane control in its institutions and effective supervision
in the community.1 In doing
this, it must ensure, at all times, that public safety is the paramount consideration
in the correctional process.
The Correctional Investigator (CI)
is the Ombudsman for federally sentenced offenders. The primary function of the
Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI)
is to investigate and bring resolution to individual offender complaints. The Office,
as well, has a responsibility to review and make recommendations on the Correctional
Service's policies and procedures associated with the areas of individual complaints
to ensure that systemic areas of concern are identified and brought to the attention
of CSC.
Over the years, CSC has
worked with the CI to develop
a unique and respectful working relationship, and to address and resolve issues
of mutual concern. In his Annual Report, the
CI provides an important, independent perspective on
CSC operations, and thus gives
CSC additional insight into its own performance.
His report this year is a compilation of issues that have been raised over several
years and identifies areas where the CI
considers that CSC has
not met his expectations. The magnitude and breadth of the recommendations presented
in this report require a comprehensive response which describes the context in which
CSC operates and its ongoing
efforts to improve results.
While the CI's recommendations
are not binding, CSC nonetheless
takes this report very seriously, analyzing each recommendation in detail, with
a view to addressing the issues identified that are most pressing and capable of
being addressed within its existing resource base.
It is important to understand that even if
CSC agreed with all of the CI's
recommendations which, as explained below, it does not, it would be beyond its reach
and capacity to address all of them at once, given its existing financial and human
resource constraints. Nevertheless,
CSC is committed to continuous improvement and learning and this report
provides an opportunity to do both.
In terms of overall context, the most fundamental point to be made here is that
CSC's approach must continue
to evolve rapidly to sustain even the current level of correctional results because
of the changing offender profile. The simple reality is that offenders today present
a broader range of risks and needs than at any time in our history. They have, for
example, more extensive and violent criminal histories as youths and as adults:
·
- Last fiscal year, roughly 90% of offenders newly admitted to our federal institutions
had a previous youth or adult court conviction; ·
- Nearly 50% of the new admissions in 2004-05 had served a prior youth sentence;·
- Today, the great majority of offenders in federal prison custody are serving sentences
for violent offences (76%); ·
- 26% of federal offenders have been convicted of homicide. There are now close to
1,000 federal offenders serving sentences for first degree murder;
- 80% of offenders admitted to a federal institution have a substance abuse problem
and half committed their crime under the influence of intoxicants, drugs or alcohol;
and·
- An increasing proportion of federally-sentenced offenders, both male and female,
now have more affiliations with gangs and organized crime (a 33% increase between
1997 and 2005).
As well, approximately 12% of male offenders and 26% of female offenders are identified
at admission as presenting mental health problems. These proportions have risen
since 1997 (from 7% to 12% for men, or an increase of 71%, and from 13% to 26% for
women, or an increase of 100%). Consequently,
CSC needs to rapidly strengthen and integrate its response to the
mental health needs of offenders in institutions and in communities.
Furthermore, most offenders now have unstable job histories, low levels of education,
and are generally in poorer health, having much higher rates of infectious disease
such as HIV and Hepatitis
than other Canadians. In addition, Aboriginal peoples continue to be over-represented
in the correctional system; approximately 3% of the Canadian population is of Aboriginal
ancestry, in contrast to approximately 18% of federally incarcerated offenders.
Additionally, over 50% of new male offender admissions are now serving sentences
of less than three years. This trend toward shorter sentence lengths has been increasing
for nearly a decade and continues to increase, leaving less time to change a lifetime
pattern of attitudes and behaviours.
At the same time, the proportion of people who are being released under supervision
as a result of discretionary release decisions is decreasing and the proportion
of those being released as a result of statutory release provisions, with less time
in the community under CSC
supervision, is increasing.
These factors pose significant challenges for the effective management, treatment,
and employment of offenders while incarcerated and for their eventual successful
reintegration into the community. In this context, if
CSC is to continue to make the contribution to public safety that
Canadians expect and deserve, it will have to build more sophisticated and integrated
approaches within a fiscally responsible framework.
CSC'S APPROACH TO THESE
CHALLENGES
CSC administers 58 penitentiaries,
16 community correctional centres and 71 parole offices across Canada, to manage
offenders who are sentenced to two years or more. On any given day, there are approximately
12,400 offenders in institutions and 8,300 under supervision in the community. On
a flow-through basis, CSC
manages approximately 26,000 offenders per year.
To position itself to meet the challenges of the changing offender profile described
above, CSC's approach
will be to focus, over the next three years, on five strategic priorities in order
to achieve the following results:
1. Safe transition of offenders into the community;
A reduction in the rate of violent re-offending by offenders, both while they are
in the community under
CSC
supervision and following the end of their sentence;
2. Safety and security for staff and offenders in our institutions;
A reduction in violent behaviour within
CSC institutions;
3. Enhanced capacities to provide effective interventions for First Nations, Métis
and Inuit offenders;
A narrowing of the gap in the rate of re-offending between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
offenders, both while they are in the community under
CSC supervision and following the end of their sentence;
4. Improved capacities to address mental health needs of offenders; and
An improvement in correctional results for federal offenders with mental disorders;
and
5. Strengthening management practices.
An improvement in management practices at all levels, in institutions and the community.
Strategies have been developed for these five priorities and are now reflected in
current business plans. Strategies for the four operational priorities, and expected
results, have been developed based on extensive criminological research which demonstrates
that gradual and controlled release of offenders to the community, when it is safe
to do so, and with proper supervision and support - is effective in ensuring the
short and long term safety of our communities. Offenders who have benefited from
targeted interventions are less likely to commit new crimes.
Strategies for the fifth strategic priority, strengthening management practices,
include focussing special attention on ensuring roles and responsibilities are well
defined; internal communications are robust; teamwork is sustained across organizational
boundaries and across disciplines; and management approaches are transparent, with
decisions that are based on public service values, quality and cost effectiveness
to provide public safety results for Canadians.
FRAMEWORK FOR RESPONSE
The CI's Annual Report includes
42 individual recommendations (including sub-recommendations) covering a broad range
of topics. Given the very clear set of five priorities that
CSC has established for 2006-07 and beyond, and that the
CI's recommendations can be related to these priorities,
CSC's response to these 42 recommendations is organized in
terms of how each of these relate to the priorities.
This structured response will provide clarity for the reader who may wish to cross-reference
any other CSC report including,
most importantly, its 2006-07 Report on Plans and Priorities, and other mechanisms
for reporting to Parliament.2
It will also allow CSC
to effectively monitor, where appropriate, progress in relation to its response
as part of its ongoing work in implementing its business plan. For those who wish
to review the response by numerical order of the
CI's recommendations, please see Annex B for a cross-reference index.
From CSC's perspective,
some of the 42 recommendations require additional attention at this juncture and
others do not. In many cases, this is because, while
CSC agrees with the overall thrust of the
CI's recommendation, CSC
has already taken action in many of these areas. For example, as described below,
improvements in the delivery of programs and services at institutions and parole
offices, which contribute to preparing offenders for a safe and gradual transition
to the community, are already underway, and will have positive impacts that have
not been recognized in the CI's
report.
CSC will continue to work
closely with the CI on many
of the areas covered in the Annual Report.
CSC has benefited greatly from the experience and input provided by
members of the CI's office
in relation to policy development and improvement of processes. The
OCI has, for example, been instrumental in making recommendations
that have improved the process for review of use of force incidents.
It should be noted that
CSC's response does not include a response to recommendation 15 in
the CI's Report because it
has been made to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness rather
than to CSC:
I recommend that the Minister play a leadership role by requesting the House
of Commons' Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security examine the
implementation of independent adjudication of administrative segregation decisions
when it considers other amendments of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.
CSC's position on this
issue has been clearly communicated to the
CI. CSC
is not in favour of, and does not support the implementation of independent adjudication,
at this time.
This response to the CI's Annual
Report has been developed to provide more context than has been provided in previous
responses. As such, it should provide the reader with greater insight into the complexities
of managing a rapidly changing offender population, and into how, over the coming
years, CSC intends to
maximize it contribution to public safety by focussing on five strategic priorities.
PRIORITY 1 - COMMUNITY TRANSITION
Safe transition of offenders into the community
In the context of the changing offender profile described earlier,
CSC is facing a number of challenges in preparing offenders for a
safe transition to the community. While the evidence demonstrates that a gradual,
supervised release to the community provides the best results, the more complex
and demanding population poses a major challenge for
CSC. Offenders now pose a greater variety of risks and have more diverse
needs which require targeted correctional programs and interventions and close monitoring
of the implementation of correctional plans for each individual. In this context,
a major priority for CSC
is to enhance its approaches toward ensuring that offenders can be safely returned
to the community.
To contribute to public safety results,
CSC continues to develop and integrate strategies that focus on purposeful
interventions, correctional programs and effective supervision, as well as improvements
in the monitoring of the offender's progress.
For example, CSC is improving
offender preparation for release, aimed at adapting the intake process for offenders
so that the offender's criminogenic needs are assessed earlier in the process and
an appropriate Correctional Plan is developed. As well, additional amendments are
being made to case management and programming, to ensure that there is more timely
and purposeful interventions for those serving shorter sentences. Additionally,
enhancements to Community Correctional Centres (CCCs)
to manage the transition to the community will further support safe transition for
offenders into the community.
CI's Recommendation 1:
I recommend that the Correctional Service demonstrate compliance with its
legal obligation to provide every inmate with essential health care according to
professionally accepted standards, and that all institutional health care sites
be accredited within one year.
CSC'S
RESPONSE:
CSC does and will
continue to provide every inmate with essential health care and reasonable access
to non-essential health care that will contribute to the inmate's rehabilitation
and successful reintegration into the community.
Health care is provided according to professionally accepted standards by
registered health care professionals; attaining accreditation of health care sites
is a goal, but not a legal obligation.
All health professionals under contract or employed with
CSC are registered and regulated by their independent licensing bodies
and are governed by various statutory requirements. In accordance with the Corrections
and Conditional Release Act (CCRA),
CSC only hires registered
health care professionals to deliver health services to federally sentenced offenders.
There are mechanisms in place to verify that all health care professionals have
a current and valid license to practice.
Accreditation is a complex and iterative process in which
CSC is actively engaged. It is a goal that
CSC is pursuing, in order to further improve its delivery of health
care, but accreditation is not a legal obligation. All
CSC Health Services Units, with the exception of one, were surveyed
by the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA)
between December 2004 and June 2006. Future follow-up visits will be done in accordance
with the three year cycle.
Moreover, to ensure that standards of care are respected and problems are addressed,
CSC has a number of mechanisms
in place, including investigations, visits by the Health Care Advisory Committee,
and continued pursuit of accreditation of all Health Services.
CI's Recommendation 5:
I recommend that, within one year, the Correctional Service:
- significantly increase all women offenders' access to meaningful employment
and employability programming;·
- continue to significantly increase community accommodations and support
services for women offenders in underserved areas;·
- significantly increase the number of women offenders appearing before
the National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates;·
- build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and section 81 agreements
with Aboriginal communities; and
- significantly improve access to culturally sensitive programming and
services for Aboriginal women who are currently imprisoned in the Atlantic, Quebec
and Ontario regions.
CSC'S
RESPONSE:
Within its available resources, and based on on-going needs analysis and
research, CSC will continue
to enhance services, programs and strategies, focussed on meeting the specific needs
of women offenders, to reduce their risk of re-offending violently and to increase
their ability to transition safely to the community.
- significantly increase all women offenders' access to meaningful employment
and employability programming;
CSC recognizes the pivotal
role that employment plays in promoting the reintegration of offenders into society
as law-abiding citizens. CSC
has developed a draft National Employment Strategy for Women Offenders, that is
scheduled for implementation in April 2007. The objective of the Strategy is to
increase viable and meaningful employment opportunities for women offenders, both
in the institution and upon release, to contribute to their successful reintegration.
- continue to significantly increase community accommodations and support
services for women offenders in underserved areas;
Over the past few years, CSC
has increased bed capacity in the Atlantic Region; as well,
CSC has significantly expanded bed capacity in the Pacific Region
in the past year, including accommodation for Aboriginal women.
The expansion of small-scale alternative community accommodation (e.g. satellite
apartments and private home placements) for women offenders in underserved areas
has been limited by challenges in finding these types of accommodation with the
required support and structure, often for one woman at a time. Nevertheless, CSC remains committed to seeking
these opportunities in underserved areas.
- significantly increase the number of women offenders appearing before
the National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates;
CSC constantly strives
to bring forth program improvements that will contribute to a woman's release at
the earliest appropriate date (e.g., earlier targeting of needs, flexible entry
system for programs and reduction of minimum program group size).
CSC continues to monitor those few women offenders who are past their
parole eligibility dates, and remains committed to the reintegration of women offenders
to the community.
- build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and section 81 agreements
with Aboriginal communities;
A Section 84 Conditional Release Planning Kit has been produced and widely distributed
throughout CSC, including
to the women offender institutions, and to communities to provide a comprehensive
guide on this type of release option.
Nine full-time Aboriginal Community Development Officer (ACDO)
positions have been staffed across the country to create links, for both men and
women offenders, with Aboriginal communities, to raise Aboriginal community interest
in participating in the correctional process, and to initiate section 84 release
planning.
- significantly improve access to culturally sensitive programming and
services for Aboriginal women who are currently imprisoned in the Atlantic, Quebec
and Ontario regions.
The Atlantic (Nova Institution), Quebec (Joliette Institution), and Ontario (Grand
Valley Institution) regions have fewer Aboriginal women offenders than the two western
regions. Elder and Aboriginal Liaison Officer services are provided at these sites
and women's needs are addressed on an individual basis through interventions, such
as sweat lodges and other cultural activities (e.g. Circles of Change Program at
Grand Valley Institution).
CI's Recommendation 12:
I recommend that, in the next year, the Correctional Service:
- significantly increase the number of offenders appearing before the
National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates;
- significantly reduce waiting lists for programs included in correctional
plans to maximize safe and timely reintegration; and
- significantly increase the number of unescorted temporary absences and
work releases, which have drastically declined in recent years and yet have a very
high success rate.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC strongly supports
the principle that every offender ought to have access to the programs and treatments
that meet their needs.
CSC takes every
possible action, within its resources, to eliminate obstacles to offenders' participation
in programs, including unescorted temporary absences (UTAs) and work releases, and
activities which will help to reduce the risk they represent to society, ideally,
by the time they reach their parole eligibility dates.
CSC cannot predetermine
the numbers who will achieve this challenging goal, nor can
CSC compel an offender to appear before the
NPB at their earliest eligibility date.
- significantly increase the number of offenders appearing before the
National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates;
CSC cannot commit to increasing
offender appearances at the National Parole Board (NPB).
There are other factors in addition to eligibility dates for release which must
be considered, the first being whether the offender is ready to be released and
can be safely managed in the community.
CSC's policy and procedures
direct that an offender and the accompanying casework be prepared for presentation
to the NPB at the earliest date
that the offender is assessed as being able to be safely managed in the community.
- significantly reduce waiting lists for programs included in correctional
plans to maximize safe and timely reintegration;
Waitlists are only one indicator of true demand for programs. Program Assignment
Boards are in place in the institution and in the community to manage the program
enrolment of offenders.
One approach that is currently being considered is reducing the time that offenders
spend in the intake process, so that they can participate in correctional programs
earlier in their sentence.
New programs and program referral criteria will be introduced, by the end of fiscal
year 2007, to address the challenge of placing offenders in programs that are commensurate
with their identified needs, risk level, and sentence length.
New policy, currently under development, will provide explicit guidelines for the
referrals to programs, the management of wait-lists, and the functioning of the
Program Board.
- significantly increase the number of unescorted temporary absences and
work releases, which have drastically declined in recent years and yet have a very
high success rate.
The decision to approve an Escorted Temporary Absence (ETA), an Unescorted Temporary
Absence (UTA), or a work release is made on a case-by-case basis. Both public safety
and the reintegration benefits of such a decision need to be considered and appropriately
balanced. Therefore, CSC
cannot commit to increasing the use of these Temporary Absences (TA) or work-releases
on a population-wide basis.
However, CSC's efforts
to streamline assessments and reduce wait times will contribute to increasing the
number of offenders for whom Temporary Absences or a work release may be a viable
correctional option. The efforts of the Aboriginal Community Development Officers
to work with Aboriginal communities will also contribute to increasing TA opportunities
for Aboriginal offenders.
CI's Recommendation 19:
I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately:
- amend its policy requiring that inmates choose between either visiting
a dying member of their immediate family or other persons with whom inmates have
a close personal relationship or attending their funeral; and
- expedite the consideration of requests for compassionate temporary absences,
and allow for a visit to the gravesite or with family members should circumstances
make attendance at the funeral impossible.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC does not have
the resources to accommodate every request for compassionate temporary absence.
Moreover, CSC disagrees
with the need to amend its current policy, since it reflects principles of compassion
and current community standards.
CSC has an obligation
to attend to the needs of the offender, manage public safety, and to responsibly
manage within the limited resources available to deal with the many serious challenges
it faces. There are frequently very real tensions between these three obligations.
CSC is of the view that
no further action is required with respect to reviewing requests for compassionate
temporary absences, as CSC
already exercises, and will continue to exercise, appropriate discretion when reviewing
each request, on a case-by-case basis, and in keeping with law, policy and the principles
of compassion.
CSC recognizes and supports
the strengthening of an offender's community ties and respects the humanity of those
under sentence. CSC therefore
makes every reasonable effort to accommodate inmates wishing to attend funeral services
of immediate family members or persons with whom the inmate has a close personal
relationship.
Current policy ensures the humane treatment of offenders by allowing them, to the
extent possible, to attend the funerals of certain individuals with whom the offender
has a relationship. However, each application is evaluated, to determine the nature
of the relationship between the offender and the deceased as well as the risk posed
by the offender.
PRIORITY 2 - SAFETY AND SECURITY IN INSTITUTIONS
Safety and security for staff and offenders in our institutions
The changing offender population has a direct impact on the safety and security
of institutions. There has been an increase in offenders demonstrating poor institutional
adjustment, more anti-social behaviour, and there has been an increase in the proportion
of offenders assessed as requiring placement into maximum security institutions
at intake.3
CSC must work towards
reducing all forms of violence, whether directed at staff or at offenders. At the
same time, offenders must be provided with an environment that is secure and conducive
to their rehabilitation. Furthermore, the high prevalence of offenders having substance
abuse problems means that institutions are exposed to risks of violence associated
with drugs.
CSC continues to look
at ways to improve current practices, explore new and innovative strategies, and
create better conditions for successful behavioural changes and rehabilitation of
offenders.
To ensure the protection of staff and offenders in institutions, ongoing adjustments
to security and interventions to address the changing offender profile must be put
in place. Making these adjustments is a priority for
CSC.
CI's Recommendation 4:
I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately implement a prison-based
needle exchange to ensure that inmates and society at large are best protected from
the spread of serious diseases.
CSC'S
RESPONSE:
CSC actively works
to reduce the spread of infectious disease, and continues to examine options to
decrease the risk of transmission of infectious disease for offenders, staff, and
the public. However, CSC's
immediate focus is to curtail the supply, use and impact of drugs in institutions,
while recognizing that additional efforts and resources will be required over time
in the areas of prevention, treatment, enforcement, and harm reduction.
The Public Health Agency Canada (PHAC)
has recently completed an initial study on the use of a safe-needle exchange program
within the prison environment. CSC
is analyzing the results of this study, within the overall context of
CSC's strategy on drugs in institutions, and examining the experience
of international jurisdictions that have implemented needle exchange programs. However,
the primary focus for CSC
in the near term will be on reducing the supply of drugs in its institutions.
CI's Recommendation 5 (cont'd from priority 1):
I recommend that, within one year, the Correctional Service:
- review the daily operations and staffing of the women's secure units
with a view to eliminating "deadtime" and to significantly increasing timely access
to treatment, spiritual, academic and work programs; and
- review use of force incidents at women's facilities to ensure consistent
compliance with policy.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC continues
to seek increased opportunities for women offenders who are classified as maximum
security to participate in programs and activities and to interact with others,
while maintaining the safety and security of all concerned. The thorough review
of all use of force incidents at women's institutions is in place, and is a well-established
practice.
- review the daily operations and staffing of the women's secure units
with a view to eliminating "deadtime" and to significantly increasing timely access
to treatment, spiritual, academic and work programs;
CSC's approach is to continually
review and improve operations and access to programs and treatment for women offenders
in the Secure Unit.
CSC is focussing, in particular,
on the more effective management of women who have been placed on the Management
Protocol4, as a result of
committing an act causing serious harm within the institution or seriously jeopardizing
the safety of others during their incarceration. Women on the Management Protocol,
and those in segregation, are most likely to experience periods of non-structured
time which presents a challenge for
CSC.
CSC is seeking to secure
additional resources to increase interventions, and consequently increase opportunities
for these women to access programs, treatment, educational and spiritual activities.
- review use of force incidents at women's facilities to ensure consistent
compliance with policy.
The CI report indicates that
the reportable use of force incidents at women's facilities have measurably increased
in 2005-06 following a significant decline in 2004-05. In contrast,
CSC's data indicate that use of force incidents have remained relatively
stable over the last three fiscal years: 71 in 2003-04; 62 in 2004-05; and 71 in
2005-06.
CSC has policies and procedures
in place that govern the recording, viewing and transmitting of videotapes, including
the transmission of every tape to the
OCI for review. Policy and procedures clearly specify the roles and
responsibilities at the local, regional, and national levels for the review process
and for the monitoring of use of force incidents and reporting.
All Institutional Emergency Response Team interventions are videotaped and subsequently
reviewed at the local and the regional levels to ensure compliance with policy.
In addition, all videotapes of incidents involving women offenders are reviewed
by CSC through the Office
of the Deputy Commissioner for Women, in order to ensure compliance with policy
and to address any problematic issues with the institutions.
CI's Recommendation 12 (cont'd from priority 1):
I recommend that, in the next year, the Correctional Service:
- increase timely access to programs and services that will significantly
reduce the time spent in medium and maximum security institutions.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC is committed,
within its resources, to increasing and enhancing the provision of opportunities
for offenders to participate in all programs, including unescorted temporary absences
and work release, that will assist in their gradual, supervised transition to the
community.
CSC does not support
numeric targets over comprehensive case-by-case reviews for the security classification
or the gradual release of offenders. These decisions are based on a distinct review
of each case. CSC will
assist offenders to make the changes necessary to demonstrate that they have reduced
the level of risk they represent.
Research has demonstrated that providing effective interventions is the most effective
option for reducing institutional misconduct and maintaining safe and humane environments.
CSC is responding to the
placement needs of the offender population through streamlining processes to ensure
that, to the largest extent possible, all offenders have access to necessary interventions.
CSC's goal is to improve
access to programs for all offenders, which will contribute to decreasing risk.
Reduced risk results in a lowering of required security level, and shorter time
spent at the highest security level.
Additionally, in order to appropriately address the program needs of Aboriginal
offenders,5 recent revisions
to case management policies incorporated the consideration of Aboriginal social
history in the correctional planning and decision-making process, in accordance
with the principles of the Supreme Court of Canada Gladue6 decision.
CI's Recommendation 13:
I recommend that, in the coming year, the Correctional Service:
- proactively implement least restrictive options and significantly reduce
the overall number of placements in administrative segregation;
- significantly reduce the average length of stay in administrative segregation;
and
- significantly reduce the time to affect intra- and inter- regional transfers.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC will continue
to improve its practices to ensure that Administrative Segregation is used only
in accordance with a fair and reasonable decision-making process, and to ensure
that the offender is safely returned to the general inmate population at the earliest
appropriate time.
- proactively implement least restrictive options and significantly reduce
the overall number of placements in administrative segregation;
The change in the offender profile has presented challenges in managing a contained
environment with limited resources and options.
CSC is committed to using Administrative Segregation only when required,
in accordance with the
CCRA. Placement in Administrative Segregation is initially reviewed
by the Warden, (if it was not the Warden who confirmed the order to segregate) and,
after five days, followed up by a review board's recommendation, to ensure that
the inmate's continued custody in segregation is warranted pursuant to the considerations
in the CCRA.
Additionally, to assist in compliance with policy and procedures related to Administrative
Segregation, CSC continues
to provide training to Correctional Supervisors with respect to administrative segregation.
- significantly reduce the average length of stay in administrative segregation;
Multiple factors contribute to the need for Administrative Segregation. CSC's continuing efforts to
enhance mental health support, reduce the influence of drugs, and develop strategies
to manage gangs, together with the measures taken to reduce institutional violence,
should lessen reliance on Administrative Segregation and help to reduce the number
of offenders seeking voluntary segregation.
As to women offenders in segregation,
CSC has commenced a two-year pilot Segregation Advisory Committee
at Edmonton Institution for Women, with external membership, to review the cases
of women in segregation over 30 consecutive days, and all women whose cumulative
stay in segregation exceeds 60 days over a one-year period. The purpose of the Committee
is to identify possible reasonable alternatives to both short and long term segregation.
In addition, CSC will
be conducting a national audit on administrative segregation in the fall 2006. The
audit will focus on:
- the adequacy of the overall framework for the management of administrative segregation;
- determining whether the initial placement and continued segregation is justified;
- determining whether the conditions of confinement in segregation meet the intent
of the law; and
- assessing the level of compliance to the administrative requirements of the segregation
process related to reviews/assessments as well as the recording of information.
- significantly reduce the time to affect intra- and inter- regional transfers.
Offenders requesting a voluntary transfer to alleviate their segregation status
are considered a priority for transfer. On average,
CSC conducts five inter-regional voluntary transfers a month in order
to address long-term segregation cases. The success of these inter-regional transfers
is monitored at the national level.
Additionally, for those cases where regions are having difficulty transferring an
offender, Commissioner's Directive 710-2 Transfer of Offenders, was recently amended
to allow for a final decision, where two regions cannot agree on a transfer, to
be made at National Headquarters.
CI's Recommendation 14:
I recommend that Correctional Service immediately implement reasonable procedural
safeguards for any offender confined in any situation that is not within the general
inmate population, and ensure legal compliance with offenders' rights, entitlements,
and access to programs.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC is responsible
for the safe custody of an increasingly diverse population, within which there are
often conflicting groups or individuals. Care will continue to be taken to respect
every aspect of the CCRA
in providing an environment within institutions that allow inmates to live in a
safe and compatible way, while ensuring that their access to programs and their
safety and security are not compromised.
CSC has conducted a survey
of "Transition Units" and other sub-population units. As a result of the survey,
a Commissioner's Directive will be developed, to ensure that the needs of the various
and potentially more challenging offender population that is being managed in institutions
are met through safe and appropriate placement.
CSC will also ensure full compliance with the
CCRA, with respect to consistency of conditions of confinement
across populations.
CI's Recommendation 16:
I recommend that, within one year, the Correctional Service:
- develop and implement new policies, programs and services specifically
to meet the unique needs of offenders 20 and younger that will significantly reduce
their time spent in maximum and medium-security institutions, and in administrative
segregation; and
- develop and implement programs and services designed to meet the unique
needs of offenders 20 and younger that will significantly increase their timely
and safe reintegration into the community.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC will continue
to ensure that the needs of all offenders, including younger offenders, are appropriately
dealt with through their individual assessments and plans, while ensuring their
overall safety and ability to participate in programs.
Each Correctional Plan is developed on an individual basis and therefore addresses
the unique needs and concerns of the offender. Where there are accommodations required
because of age-related needs, those are built into the Plan.
CI's Recommendation 17:
I recommend that Correctional Service respond to the special needs of elderly
offenders and significantly improve key areas including accommodation, program development,
palliative care, and reintegration options.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC will continue
to ensure that the needs of all offenders, including elderly offenders, are appropriately
dealt with through their individual assessments and plans, while ensuring their
overall safety and ability to participate in programs.
As noted in our response to the issue of offenders under 20 years old, each Correctional
Plan is developed on an individual basis and as such addresses the unique needs
and concerns of the offender. When there are accommodations required because of
age-related needs, those are built into the Plan.
CI's Recommendation 18:
I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately increase inmate allowances
for work and program participation. I further recommend that from this time forward
inmate pay be indexed to the rate of inflation.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
This is not an immediate priority for
CSC. CSC is
presently examining options to maximize the effective use of resources currently
allocated for inmate allowances.
CSC recognizes that a
change to the inmate allowance system is needed and has been working with the OCI over the past
six months to develop an improved approach. The
OCI is a member of the Working Group that prepared a detailed report
entitled, "Overview of Inmate Finances", in December 2005.
The analysis presented by the CI
in these recommendations comes directly from the report. This in-depth report analyzed
the issue from a legislative and historical perspective; issues raised by stake-holders;
most recent changes to policy; comparisons nationally and internationally; inmate
pay and motivation; and, the financial situation. As a result of this analysis,
various options have been developed in order to create a more streamlined allowance
system and these will be presented in the fall of 2006 to
CSC senior management.
CI's Recommendation 20:
I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately subject all federally
sentenced offenders to an individualized security classification process as required
by law and regulations.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC does not believe
that any changes are required to this process at this time.
CSC's approach to classification will continue to be based on individualized
assessments, and be conducted in accordance with the law and regulations.
CSC does conduct individualized
security classifications consistent with the
CCRA. Security needs, programming, cultural and linguistic needs,
and proximity to home community and family, along with institutional adjustment,
escape risk and public safety ratings are considered in all placement decisions.
In situations where offenders are serving a life sentence, the security classification
is carried out, in accordance with the
CCRA, based on the elements noted above, the impact that a life
sentence has on the individual, and the seriousness of the offence.
PRIORITY 3 - ABORIGINAL OFFENDERS
Enhanced capacities to provide effective interventions for First Nations, Métis
and Inuit offenders
As previously noted, Aboriginal peoples continue to be disproportionately represented
in the correctional system. Moreover, Aboriginal people admitted to federal custody
are increasingly younger and are more likely to be incarcerated for a violent offence,
have affiliations with gangs and have much higher needs (relating to substance abuse,
health, employment and education, for example). While many needs of Aboriginal men
and women are similar, they require different types of interventions to address
those needs. Furthermore, research highlights distinct background, offence patterns
and need characteristics among First Nations people on reserve, First Nations people
off reserve, Métis and Inuit offenders.
To address the specific needs of all Aboriginal offenders,
CSC's Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Corrections (2006-07 to 2010-11)
will assist CSC in moving
forward on three key areas:
- implement initiatives within a continuum of care to provide culturally appropriate
interventions that address the specific criminogenic needs of First Nations, Métis
and Inuit men and federally sentenced women offenders;
- enhance horizontal collaboration and coordination within
CSC, within the Public Safety portfolio, and with other levels of government,
Aboriginal organizations and stakeholders, to contribute to Aboriginal community
development and to help Aboriginal offenders initiate and sustain their healing
journeys; and
- address systemic barriers internally and increase
CSC cultural competence
CSC's response is organized
according to its five priorities, and recommendations related to community transition,
safety and security in institutions, mental health and strengthening management
are included in those specific sections, since these issues apply to all offenders,
regardless of their heritage. Those responses will not be reiterated within this
priority.
CI's Recommendation 6:
I recommend that, in the next year, the Correctional Service:
- implement a security classification process that ends the over-classification
of Aboriginal offenders;
- significantly increase the number of Aboriginal offenders housed at
minimum security institutions; and
- build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and 81 agreements
with Aboriginal communities.
CSC'S
RESPONSE:
CSC will continue
to develop and use evidence-based tools that facilitate the overall assessment and
security classification of all offenders, including Aboriginal offenders.
CSC is actively
pursuing strategies to continue to enhance its ability to provide effective interventions
for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Offenders. At the same time,
CSC will continue to work collaboratively with its criminal justice
partners and the community to support the safe transition of Aboriginal offenders
to communities, including those returning to urban areas.
- implement a security classification process that ends the over- classification
of Aboriginal offenders;
The security classification tool used by
CSC is appropriate for Aboriginal offenders, and the criteria which
are used to classify offenders are contained in the
CCRA and Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations (CCRR).
Empirical evidence has not been provided by the
OCI that Aboriginal offenders are over classified.
Criticisms have been levied against
CSC's reclassification methods. Therefore,
CSC plans to conduct a needs analysis into the efficacy and cultural
appropriateness of its re-classification methods, and will revise these methods,
if the analysis provides evidence that changes are necessary.
As well, CSC is focussing
its efforts on increasing access to programs and interventions which will help Aboriginal
peoples who are incarcerated, to address criminogenic needs identified in each individual's
correctional plan, and consequently improve the process of gradual supervised release.
significantly increase the number of Aboriginal offenders housed at minimum
security institutions;
The number of Aboriginal offenders eligible for transfer to minimum security is
the result of a complex interaction of factors, not all of which are under CSC's control. Nonetheless,
CSC is committed to assisting
Aboriginal offenders in achieving the correctional goals that would enable them
to be safely housed at minimum security. To this end,
CSC is integrating the needs of Aboriginal offenders into each of
its operational activities, such as Programs, to maximize the resources and energy
that can be brought to bear on this objective.
build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and 81 agreements with Aboriginal
communities.
Section 81
As a result of increased Elder involvement and Pathways7
implementation, CSC healing
lodges8 (minimum security)
were near full capacity, as of March 31, 2006. The transition of four
CSC-operated facilities to Aboriginal communities, and the development
of new proposals for section 81 agreements, is dependent on a community's capacity
to assume responsibility. A variety of funding mechanisms through Indian and Northern
Affairs Canada (INAC), the
Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Crime Prevention Centre (NCPC) are
in place to assist communities in developing that capacity.
Section 84
In 2005-06, 226 release plans were completed for presentation to
NPB, reflecting a significant increase in community involvement. These
release plans do not constitute agreements. Parole Officers integrate the plans
into documentation for NPB's consideration
in making a decision for a conditional release.
As noted previously in response to recommendation 5,
ACDO positions have been staffed across the country to create links
for both men and women offenders with Aboriginal communities, raise Aboriginal community
interest in participating in the correctional process, and initiate section 84 agreements.
Also noted elsewhere in this document, the Section 84 Conditional Release Planning
Kit has been produced and widely distributed throughout
CSC.
PRIORITY 4 - MENTAL HEALTH
Improved capacities to address mental health needs of offenders
There are an increasing number of offenders with mental health disorders, and mental
health problems are up to three times more common in correctional institutions,
than among the general population. Consequently,
CSC needs to provide a full-spectrum response to the broad and multi-dimensional
mental health needs of the offender population.
To this end, CSC has developed,
and is working toward the implementation of an overarching multi-dimensional Mental
Health Strategy. CSC has
been successful in securing funding to implement the Community Mental Health component
of the Strategy.
However, funding will be required to fully implement the remaining components. Currently,
CSC is working in collaboration
with other government departments to secure this funding as part of an inter-departmental
process to strengthen mental health in Canada.
CI's Recommendation 2:
I recommend that the Correctional Service demonstrate compliance with its
legal obligation to provide every inmate with essential mental health care and reasonable
access to non-essential mental health care according to professionally accepted
standards, and that all mental health care units and regional treatment centres
be accredited within one year.
CSC'S
RESPONSE:
CSC will continue
to provide every inmate with essential mental health care. However,
CSC is currently limited in its capacity to improve mental health
care without a significant increase in funding.
CSC agrees with the
recommendation that all treatment centres should be accredited and currently four
of the five regional treatment centres are accredited.
CSC has a comprehensive
Mental Health Strategy to improve mental health service delivery. The proposed Strategy
is a full-spectrum response to the mental health needs of offenders and provides
a coherent national approach:
- thoroughly screen all offenders, fully assess those showing signs
of mental disorders, develop formal treatment plans as appropriate, and gather information
on the true nature of mental health problems for federal inmates;
- provide treatment to inmates suffering mental health problems using dedicated
primary mental health care teams in all
CSC institutions;
- create intermediate care mental health units in selected men's
institutions, to provide more specialized mental health care treatment to those
inmates requiring daily support in a safe and secure environment;
- upgrade staffing and facilities at mental health treatment centres
to bring them to the level of psychiatric hospitals with respect to care for inmates
with acute mental health problems; and
- continue to provide comprehensive support to offenders in the community
to ensure their safe reintegration.
The community portion of the Strategy is funded and underway while
CSC seeks funding to implement the remaining portions of the Strategy.
It is expected that the community portion of the Mental Health Strategy will enhance
reintegration for offenders with mental health problems by increasing the options
for mental health support and intervention in the community thereby increasing reintegration
success and public safety.
With regard to regional treatment centres, Shepody Healing Centre is the only remaining
unaccredited treatment centre and is targeted for accreditation in 2008.
With respect to women offenders, an eight-bed Structured Living Environment (SLE) house is located at each women
offender institution to address the needs and risks of women who have mental health
problems and are classified at minimum and medium security levels. The
SLE has 24-hour supervision and an inter-disciplinary team who receives
additional training including specialized mental health training. In its September
2005 inspection at Nova and Grand Valley Institution for Women, Her Majesty's Inspectorate
of Prisons for England and Wales highlighted the
SLE's as being an impressive model. For women who require intensive mental
health care intervention, CSC
has a separate unit for women at the Regional Psychiatric Centre (Prairies) and
at l'Institut Philippe Pinel de Montréal.
CI's Recommendation 3:
I again recommend that the Service take immediate steps to sensitize and
train all front-line staff to appropriately identify disruptive mental health behaviour
and respond accordingly.
CSC'S
RESPONSE:
CSC's Mental Health
Strategy reinforces its commitment to training staff in this area, and to assist
staff to achieve and maintain the level of competence required to carry out their
duties.
Training for front-line staff in the identification and response to behaviour arising
from mental health issues is currently in development. Institutions will be encouraged
to include the mental health training module in their existing training plans while
CSC seeks additional resources
to allow for a formal delivery strategy to be developed. The delivery of the training
to all front-line staff is contingent on having adequate funding, given that the
funding required far exceeds financial capacity at this time.
As part of the Community Mental Health Initiative, the staff of parole offices,
Community Correctional Centres (CCCs)
and Community Residential Facilities (CRFs)
will receive annual mental health training, beginning in fiscal year 2006-07. In
addition, staff of the CRFs
for women offenders will also receive additional mental health training this fiscal
year.
As well, all front line staff and all staff in the Structured Living Environments
in the women offender institutions are trained in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
(DBT), which targets emotion
dysregulation and the various behavioural difficulties associated with it.
PRIORITY 5 - STRENGTHENING OUR MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
To improve the way we deliver on the key strategic priorities, and more generally,
on all aspects of our mandate
CSC is an organization
with close to 15,000 employees, across many disciplines, and operating 365 days
a year, 24 hours a day, across all geographic regions of the country.
CSC is also one of the largest federal custodians of real property
assets. Most of these facilities have not had the benefit of cyclical renewals or
major infrastructure replacements over their life cycle. As a result, a strategy
to rigorously examine CSC's
infrastructure needs, in light of the population management requirements associated
with the changing offender profile, is being developed.
In this context, the integration of
CSC's human resources and financial planning analysis into existing
priorities and planning processes is essential to the effective achievement of its
priorities. CSC is committed
to successfully integrate transparency and accountability across all levels of the
organization, align performance monitoring systems with corporate results commitments,
and improve the development of policies and the delivery of programs. Ultimately
this will ensure more coherence in the provision of better correctional results
for Canadians.
If CSC is to be successful
in achieving better results, it must continue its efforts to improve management
practices. Four strategies currently being pursued to achieve this priority include:
clarifying roles and responsibilities; enhancing the values and ethics program;
improving internal communications, and addressing the longer-term infrastructure
needs and facility rust-out.
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT:
CI's Recommendation 5 (cont'd - see priority 1 and priority 2) :
I recommend that, within one year, the Correctional Service:
- establish firm targets ensuring all front-line staff receive refresher
training in women-centered approaches in accordance with the recommendation of the
Canadian Human Rights Commission; and
- provide women-centered training to all community parole officers working
with women offenders.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC will continue
to provide its staff with high quality, timely training to ensure the level of competence
and skills required to carry out their duties. The provision of refresher training
in women-centered approaches has been included as part of the National Training
Standards and is being closely monitored to ensure compliance with the Standards.
- establish firm targets ensuring all front-line staff receive refresher
training in women-centered approaches in accordance with the recommendation of the
Canadian Human Rights Commission;
CSC's commitment to the
Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC)
is to provide refresher training every two years.
CSC has met this commitment by developing a refresher training course
and ensuring staff complete this training every two years in accordance with our
National Training Standards.
All front line staff recently received the refresher training. Once there has been
an opportunity to assess the impact of the current standards and training needs,
CSC will determine if
there is a requirement to provide more frequent training.
- provide women-centered training to all community parole officers working
with women offenders,
A significant number of parole officers working in women's supervision units have
received women-centered training. CSC
will consider means of ensuring training is readily available to all parole officers
in women's supervision units.
For other parole officers who may be required to supervise a women offender, only
on an irregular basis, supportive measures, including women-centred training, will
be made available, as required.
CI's Recommendation 7:
I recommend that the Correctional Service significantly improve (above the
required employment equity level) the overall rate of its Aboriginal workforce at
all levels in institutions where a majority of offenders are of Aboriginal ancestry.
CSC'S
RESPONSE:
While CSC is the second
largest federal employer of Aboriginal peoples, it will continue to strive to further
improve the level of representation of Aboriginal employees and managers in CSC.
The current Canada-wide Workforce Availability Estimate, based on the 2001 Census
Survey, indicates that a total of 4.7% of the estimated workforce self-identified
as being of Aboriginal descent. As of March 31, 2006, data show that 970 of CSC's 14,479 (6.7%) employees
self-identified as being of Aboriginal descent. It is also noteworthy that CSC is second only to the department
of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)
in recruitment and representation of Aboriginal peoples in the federal public service.
CSC is committed to building
on the principles of employment equity to achieve a more diverse workforce that
is not only representative of Canadian society, but also of the offender population.
Measures continue to be identified to address systemic barriers and the continued
under-representation of designated groups in various occupational categories and
levels.
An integrated human resource management strategy that addresses recruitment, development
and retention of Aboriginal employees will be completed by end of fiscal year 2007.
A critical first step in the strategy will be the development of a business-based
needs assessment and gap analysis to establish what capacity will be required throughout
CSC, over the longer term.
This assessment will inform consultations with the federal Aboriginal Human Resources
Development Council and with Aboriginal organizations to determine options to address
identified needs.
PERFORMANCE MONITORING:
CI's Recommendation 8:
I recommend that the Correctional Service establish a timely approval process
by its Executive Committee for the development of action plans in response to investigative
reports into incidents of inmate deaths or major injuries. In no case should this
process exceed 6 months.
CSC'S
RESPONSE:
All such incidents of inmate injury and death will be investigated and required
corrective actions will be implemented in a timely way.
Over the last year, CSC
has continued to improve the incident investigation process. These improvements
have included the overall quality of the documents, the process for reviewing the
reports and finalizing the action plans with Executive Committee members and the
process for monitoring implementation of the approved responses.
During this coming year, CSC
will be further reducing the time from which an investigation is convened to the
time at which the Executive Committee reviews and finalizes the action plans. CSC is targeting to complete
this process within six months for all routine investigations however, for those
investigations that are more complex, the process may extend beyond the six-month
timeframe.
CI's Recommendation 9:
I recommend that the Correctional Service collect accurate information and
conduct comprehensive analyses of all inmate injuries to significantly improve its
ability to take appropriate action to limit inmate injuries and institutional violence
and that this information is verified semi-annually as part of on-going internal
audit.
CSC'S
RESPONSE:
CSC will continue
to review all sources of data that provide insight into incidents of violence within
its institutions and use this data to take corrective action as necessary, and seek
ways to improve the quality of the captured and reported data related to violent
behaviour.
CSC is focussing on controlling
and eliminating the factors that contribute to violence and injuries in institutions
in a variety of ways, such as reducing the presence and influence of drugs in institutions,
and adjusting Violence Prevention Programs to make them more accessible to those
who require them. These improvements should result in better equipping offenders
to self-regulate behaviours that may lead to violent situations.
CSC recognizes weaknesses
in the data recording and analysis systems surrounding injury reporting. Measures
to correct these weaknesses are already underway, and will result in more complete
and accurate information. CSC
is reviewing the process used to capture and record all incidents of violence, and
will refine and improve this process over the coming year.
REDRESS SYSTEM:
CI's Recommendations 10 and 11:
I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately comply with its legal
obligations and establish "a procedure for fairly and expeditiously resolving all
offenders' grievances."
I recommend that within one year the Correctional Service provide evidence
that complaint and grievance statistics are being used to identify and address areas
of systemic offender concerns.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC will continue
to review and improve its current process for responding to offender complaints
and grievances, at all levels within
CSC.
CSC will continue
to use the national level of the Offender Grievance system to resolve issues raised
in third level grievances and to provide systemic analysis of trends or areas of
concern for CSC.
The quality of grievance responses has improved over the past two years. The Knowledge
Management System that was shared with the regions this year has assisted staff
at all levels to improve consistency and clarity of responses.
Regional and operational staff reviewing the more comprehensive and clearly presented
rationales for third level grievance decisions are using the information to increase
their understanding of human rights requirements in the context of their work, and
in turn are providing improved responses to grievances at the lower levels of the
redress system and contributing to a correctional culture that is more respectful
of human rights.
The more intensive review process has lead to clearer identification of systemic
issues and inadequacies in the clarity or comprehensiveness of existing policies.
Work is done on an on-going basis with policy holders and operational managers to
fix problems as they are uncovered. Some systemic analysis of trends and areas of
concerns has occurred on an ad hoc basis; however,
CSC recognizes that improvement must be made in this area and has
taken steps, outlined above, to remedy the lack of consistent analysis. It should
be noted that the CI report
positively comments on the analyses undertaken by
CSC/Women Offender Sector on complaints and grievances regarding women
offenders. These analyses are ongoing and will continue to be provided to the CI.
Through resource re-allocations, the backlog of grievances at 3rd level, at the
end of FY05-06, had been eliminated. Every effort will be made through streamlining
of processes and policy improvement to sustain these gains and ensure timeliness
of responses at the national level. Of the 19,000 complaints and grievances addressed
in 2005-2006, 79% were addressed on time. Of the 13,000 addressed at the institutional
level, 87% were on-time.
INMATE ACCESS TO COMPUTERS:
CI'S Recommendation 21:
I recommend that the Correctional Service:
- establish a reasonable ratio of computers to inmates in designated areas
outside-cells available for inmate use; and
- allow inmates to have computers for in-cell use.
CSC'S RESPONSE:
CSC recognizes
the benefits that computer access can bring to offender educational and work skills,
and will continue to manage, within its resource base, the risks that computer access
can pose.
CSC has worked very closely
and productively with a broad range of stakeholders and experts in Information Technology
on this issue since 2004, and has an established minimum of four computers in each
institution and a minimum ratio of one computer for every 50 inmates.
CSC is currently conducting
a study to determine whether the ratio of computers to inmates needs to be adjusted,
and to establish a Protocol for Inmate Access to
CSC-owned computers. The study will also include a Threat and Risk
Assessment of in-cell use of computers.
[1] See Annex A for CSC's Mandate.
[2] The Report on Plans and
Priorities is tabled each year in Parliament and guides all business planning
in CSC.
[3] Since 2001,
CSC's initial placement policy requires that offenders charged with
murder spend at least two years in a maximum-security institution.
[4] The Management Protocol
is a framework that provides the structure, monitoring and supervision required
to ensure safety of staff, other inmates and the public by stabilizing the inmate's
daily routine
[5] See Priority 3 Aboriginal
Offenders, Enhanced Capacities To Provide Effective Intervention for First Nations,
Métis and Inuit Offenders, for more detailed information on
CSC's efforts to address this priority
[6] In 1999, the Supreme Court
of Canada decision R. v. Gladue acknowledged the place in the criminal
justice system of Aboriginal beliefs on justice and reconciliation and on the interconnectedness
between individuals, families and communities (be it urban, rural or reserve).
[7] Pathways: traditional
environment for Aboriginal offenders who wish to follow a healing path.
[8] Healing Lodges: institutions
that offer culturally appropriate services and programs in an environment that incorporates
Aboriginal peoples' traditions and beliefs.
ANNEX A
CSC'S MANDATE
The Corrections and Conditional Release Act, (CCRA) provides
the legislative framework for CSC's
work. The mandate of the Correctional Service of Canada is to contribute to the
maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society by:
- carrying out sentences imposed by courts through the safe and humane custody and
supervision of offenders; and
- assisting in the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community
as law-abiding citizens through the provision of programs in penitentiaries and
in the community.
CSC is also guided by
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and numerous Acts, regulations,
policies, and international conventions in the delivery of its service. These help
to ensure that CSC exercises
reasonable, safe, secure and humane control of offenders, and, as well, demonstrate
fiscal responsibility in carrying out its mandate.
Consistent with the CCRA,
CSC's Mission Statement
reflects Canadians' values, including respect for the rule of law and safe, secure
and humane custody. The Mission speaks to openness and integrity in our accounts
to the public, and supports CSC's
relationship with the CI, in
general, and more specifically, CSC's
transparency and accountability to the Canadian public.
ANNEX B
LISTING OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICE
CANADA'S RESPONSES
Correctional Investigator’s Recommendations
Recommendation 1:
I recommend that the Correctional Service demonstrate compliance with its legal
obligation to provide every inmate with essential health care according to professionally
accepted standards, and that all institutional health care sites be accredited within
one year.
Recommendation 2:
I recommend that the Correctional Service demonstrate compliance with its legal
obligation to provide every inmate with essential mental health care and reasonable
access to non-essential mental health care according to professionally accepted
standards, and that all mental health care units and regional treatment centres
be accredited within one year.
Recommendation 3:
I again recommend that the Correctional Service take immediate steps to sensitize
and train all front-line staff to appropriately identify disruptive mental health
behaviour and respond accordingly.
Recommendation 4:
I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately implement a prison-based needle
exchange to ensure that inmates and society at large are best protected from the
spread of infectious diseases.
Recommendation 5:
I recommend that, within one year, the Correctional Service:
- significantly increase all women offenders' access to meaningful employment
and employability programming;
- continue to significantly increase community accommodations and support services
for women offenders in underserved areas;
- review the daily operations and staffing of the women's secure units with a
view to eliminating "deadtime" and to significantly increasing timely access to
treatment, spiritual, academic and work programs;
- significantly increase the number of women offenders appearing before the National
Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates;
- build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and section 81 agreements
with Aboriginal communities;
- significantly improve access to culturally sensitive programming and services
for Aboriginal women who are currently imprisoned in the Atlantic, Quebec and Ontario
regions;
- review use of force incidents at women's facilities to ensure consistent compliance
with policy;
- establish firm targets ensuring all front-line staff receive refresher training
in women-centered approaches in accordance with the recommendation of the Canadian
Human Rights Commission; and,
- provide women-centered training to all community parole officers working with
women offenders.
Recommendation 6:
I recommend that in the next year the Correctional Service:
- implement a security classification process that ends the over-classification
of Aboriginal offenders;
- increase timely access to programs and services that will significantly reduce
time spent in medium and maximum security institutions;
- significantly increase the number of Aboriginal offenders housed at minimum
security institutions;
- significantly increase the use of unescorted temporary absences and work releases;
- significantly increase the number of Aboriginal offenders appearing before the
National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates; and,
- build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and section 81 agreements
with Aboriginal communities.
Recommendation 7:
I recommend that the Correctional Service significantly improve (above the required
employment equity level) the overall rate of its Aboriginal workforce at all levels
in institutions where a majority of offenders are of Aboriginal ancestry.
Recommendation 8:
I recommend that the Correctional Service establish a timely approval process by
its Executive Committee for the development of action plans in response to investigative
reports into incidents of inmate deaths or major injuries. In no case should this
process exceed six months from the date of the incident.
Recommendation 9:
I recommend that the Correctional Service collect accurate information and conduct
comprehensive analyses of all inmate injuries to significantly improve its ability
to take appropriate action to limit inmate injuries and institutional violence and
that this information be verified semi-annually as part of on-going internal audits.
Recommendation 10:
I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately comply with its legal obligations
and establish "a procedure for fairly and expeditiously resolving all offenders'
grievances."
Recommendation 11:
I recommend that within one year the Correctional Service provide evidence that
complaint and grievance statistics are being used to identify and address areas
of systemic offender concerns.
Recommendation 12:
I recommend that in the next year the Correctional Service:
- significantly increase the number of offenders appearing before the National
Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates;
- significantly reduce waiting lists for programs included in correctional plans
to maximize safe and timely reintegration;
- increase timely access to programs and services that will significantly reduce
the time spent in medium and maximum security institutions; and,
- significantly increase the number of unescorted temporary absences and work
releases, which have drastically declined in recent years and yet have a very high
success rate.
Recommendation 13:
I recommend that in the coming year the Correctional Service:
- proactively implement the least restrictive options and significantly reduce
the overall number of placements in administrative segregation;
- significantly reduce the average length of stay in administrative segregation;
and,
- significantly reduce the time to effect intra-and inter-regional transfers.
Recommendation 14:
I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately implement reasonable procedural
safeguards for any offender confined in any situation that is not within the general
inmate population, and ensure legal compliance with offenders' rights, entitlements
and access to programs.
Recommendation 15:
I recommend that the Minister play a leadership role by requesting that the House
of Commons' Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security examine the
implementation of independent adjudication of administrative segregation decisions
when it considers other amendments of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.
Recommendation 16:
I recommend that within one year the Correctional Service:
- develop and implement new policies, programs and services specifically to meet
the unique needs of offenders aged 20 and younger that will significantly reduce
their time spent in maximum and medium-security institutions, and in administrative
segregation; and,
- develop and implement programs and services designed to meet the unique needs
of offenders aged 20 and younger that will significantly increase their timely and
safe reintegration into the community.
Recommendation 17:
I recommend that Correctional Service respond to the special needs of elderly offenders
and significantly improve key areas including accommodation, program development,
palliative care, and reintegration options.
Recommendation 18:
I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately increase inmate allowances
for work and program participation. I further recommend that, from this time forward,
inmate allowances be indexed to the rate of inflation.
Recommendation 19:
I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately:
- amend its policy requiring that inmates choose between either visiting a dying
member of their immediate family or other persons with whom inmates have a close
personal relationship or attending their funeral; and,
- expedite the consideration of requests for compassionate temporary absences,
and allow for a visit to the gravesite or with family members should circumstances
make attendance at the funeral impossible.
Recommendation 20:
I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately subject all federally-sentenced
offenders to an individualized security classification process as required by law
and regulations.
Recommendation 21:
I recommend that the Correctional Service:
- establish a reasonable ratio of computers to inmates in designated areas outside
cells available for inmate use;
- and, allow inmates to have computers for in-cell use.