October 5, 2009
Manitoba jail guards say a weekend riot shows inmate overcrowding in the province is growing worse.
Paul Olfert, head of the union representing the guards, said if the province doesn't get a new jail, someone will be seriously hurt or killed.
At an emergency meeting Olfert had with Manitoba Justice Minister Dave Chomiak on Monday, Chomiak agreed to interim measures, including setting up portable units at the correctional centres in Brandon and Headingley, Olfert said. However, Olfert said no timeline was provided for when those measures would be implemented.
Manitoba jail populations (as of Monday):
Brandon Correctional Centre: capacity, 164; actual, 239 (282 at the time of Sunday's riot; some have since been moved).
Headingley Correctional Centre: capacity, 485; actual, 720.
Winnipeg Remand Centre: capacity, 289; actual, 406.
Manitoba Youth Centre: capacity, 150; actual, 173.
The Pas Correctional Centre: capacity, 74; actual, 111.
Portage Women's Jail: capacity, 35; actual, 61.
Dauphin Correctional Centre: capacity, 61; actual, 70.
Agassiz Youth Centre: capacity, 100; actual, 73.
Milner Ridge Correctional Centre: capacity, 284; actual, 283.
Source: Manitoba Government and General Employees Union
The long-term solution of a new facility was also discussed, but no commitments were made by the government to that end.
The province had previously committed to the expansion of the Brandon Correctional Centre as well as the Milner Ridge Correctional Centre.
It has also broken ground on the construction of a new women's jail near Headingley to replace an older facility in Portage la Prairie.
One inmate suffered minor injuries in Sunday's riot at the Brandon jail on Sunday afternoon.
The melee lasted four hours, during which 27 inmates smashed walls, broke several things and even started a small fire.
The facility was originally built to house 160 inmates. At the time of the riot, there were 282 inmates.
Overcrowding the fault of the law: Chomiak
Chomiak blamed overcrowding on the legal system, telling CBC News about 70 per cent of the nearly 2,000 people in the province's jails are there on pretrial remand.
Chomiak said a lot of the remanded inmates are trying to capitalize on the current court procedure where judges typically grant inmates two-for-one credit for days spent in pretrial detention.
The Criminal Code's current provisions for pretrial credit have no guidelines or limits on the amount of sentencing credit a judge can grant.
Chomiak was in Ottawa last week to lobby for the Senate to approve Criminal Code amendments that would bar the remand credit except for a 1.5-to-one ratio in exceptional circumstances.
The Manitoba director of an inmates-advocacy group is expressing no shock that a riot broke out at a provincial jail in Brandon on Sunday.
John Hutton, executive director of the Manitoba chapter of the John Howard Society, said Monday that overcrowding and lack of community-based resources to supervise accused persons awaiting trial is to blame for the fracas.
One inmate suffered minor injuries in the riot at the Brandon Correctional Facility.
The melee lasted four hours, during which 27 inmates smashed walls, broke several things and started a small fire.
The facility was originally built to house 160 inmates. At the time of the riot, it held 282 prisoners.
Most Manitoba adult jails overfull
Hutton said overcrowding is a serious problem at all provincial facilities, including the Winnipeg Remand Centre in downtown Winnipeg.
Of seven adult jails in Manitoba, six of them were over capacity Monday, according to the Manitoba Government Employee's Union.
The remand centre was more than 100 people over capacity.
"It's not uncommon for people to be sleeping in the gym — for there to be 50 people sleeping in the gym — which means the gym can't be used for its original purpose," Hutton said.
"People aren't getting the benefit of being able to blow off steam playing volleyball or basketball."
Hutton said the province needs to implement a community bail program where accused persons can be released and properly supervised until they have their day in court.
He also said a mental health court needs to be created so people who suffer from mental health-related issues aren't housed in overcrowded jails.
Hutton also estimates that 70 per cent of inmates are involved in gangs, creating security issues in jails.
We need to only deny bail to those who are actually a danger to society, not just everyone to reduce overcrowding. We also need to rely less on prison as a sanction and more on community based alternatives, we need to only imprison the dangerous and violent and not those with mental disorders, property or drug offenders or non violent offenders. We need to abolish mandatory minimum sentences and bring back double time credit to allow judges more discretion.
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