Articles & News

May 30, 2008

Canada's prison statistics are sobering

Dan Lemieux, North Shore News

Problems facing Correctional Services of Canada and provincial jails are definitely in need of correction.

Here are some examples. Last November, high-profile gangster Omid Tahvili managed to bribe his way out of the North Fraser Pre-trial Centre and his whereabouts are still unknown. In January, Mountain Institution in Agassiz and Matsqui Institution were locked-down because of a gang-war between convicts attempting to control the prison drug trade. In April, a dangerous sex-offender named Blane Donald MacDougal walked away from minimum security at Ferndale and his whereabouts are unknown. Nine other dangerous offenders housed at Ferndale were relocated, because of public safety concerns. Between September 2007 and January 2008, seven inmates were stabbed at maximum security Kent Institution in Agassiz. There are similar problems in prisons all across Canada.

Conditions at the North Fraser Pre-trial Centre are so overcrowded that prisoners are sleeping on the floor in the records department. This facility was built to house 300 prisoners, but currently has a population of 650.

Corrections officers are very concerned for their own safety. During every shift, they deal with unpredictable characters and are required to do one-person escorts of dangerous criminals outside prison. The entire situation is a pressure cooker waiting to explode.

Many sheriffs, who also escort prisoners, have quit to become police officers. The pay is better and work is safer.

In our province, there are 1,301 inmates in remand awaiting trial. All are innocent until proven guilty. The court system is so slow, a person can be held in a pre-trial facility for well over a year before trial commences. Time spent in pre-trial is considered double time, and some criminals see it as a way to reduce prison sentences.

Three temporary structures are being built in Kamloops and Maple Ridge to accommodate 150 prisoners. There are several capital projects in the works to add 261 cells across the province.

Currently, there are 1,577 cells to house 2,688 prisoners in B.C. jails. Even with new buildings, jails will still be overcrowded.

Canadian statistic from 2006 show an average of 110 persons per 100,000 population are in prison. The United States average is 738 per 100,000. On any given day, approximately 35,000 adults are locked-up in Canadian jails, giving us one of the highest incarceration rates among western industrialized countries.

Another 120,000 are under supervision in the community. Studies show that putting criminals in jail protects the public, but it does not prevent crime. Recidivism rates are estimated at between 50 per cent and 80 per cent.

There are approximately 190 prisons and jails across Canada. Seventy-six are under federal supervision and the provinces and territories look after 114. British Columbia has nine prisons. Persons serving a sentence of more than two years are sent to a federal prison. Those serving less than two years go to provincial jails.

Correctional services cost taxpayers close to three billion dollars a year. If you include policing and court costs, the total would be approximately $10 billion.

It costs $88,000 a year to keep a male in federal prisons, but only $55,000 to keep the same person in a provincial jail.

There are approximately 40,000 youth custody admissions. Youth custody is not reported in all provinces and current statistics are unavailable. Many are in deferred or open custody.

In 1996, courts were given the option to impose conditional sentences served in the community. The cost to the public ranges from $5 to $25 per day. Many citizens oppose conditional sentences and express outrage when a judge allows a convicted person to stay at home instead of going to prison. Hardened criminals and repeat offenders should not qualify for conditional sentences.

However, I have slowly come to accept conditional sentencing for certain offenders. Those sent to prison associate with hardened convicts. They learn how to be better criminals and are exposed to drugs, needle sharing, HIV and AIDS. Some are brutalized by other inmates. Our current prison system with overcrowding and other problems makes rehabilitation difficult for some and impossible for others. Those who have spent time in prison are often worse than they were before incarceration.

Sending someone to prison should be a last resort. Drug addicts, alcoholics and those with mental health issues need treatment and rehabilitation. Young people should be discouraged from getting involved with gangs and drugs. Restorative justice programs are worth trying. Anything would be better than the current system.

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