Union says violent incidents in Canadian prisons are on the rise

A union representative for correctional officers is speaking out about the number of violent incidents its members are experiencing inside Canadian prisons.

SPRINGHILL, N.S. – Rene Howe, regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, says the number of violent incidents, contraband, drone sightings and weapons seized at Correctional Service Canada prisons is on the rise, and the union representative feels little is being done to ensure the safety of correctional officers.

Howe is speaking out less than a month after a serious incident left five correctional officers injured at Springhill Institution in Nova Scotia, according to Howe.

“Two of them were stabbed. One had his ear half bitten off,” he said in an interview with CTV News. “We also had reports that activities like this were going to happen, and it seems like it’s going on deaf ears with our management side.”

Correctional Service Canada (CSC) said in a statement on April 27 that the staff members were treated in hospital, and the assailant had been identified.

“Appropriate actions will be taken,” the emailed statement read.

The provincial MLA for that area made a statement on social media after the assault, outlining her concern for the officers, saying several are her constituents.

Since then, Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin says she’s been getting a lot of calls and emails from current and former officers, and their family members, expressing concern about the situation inside Springhill.

“What’s really striking to me is almost every conversation is exactly the same, which tells me that these problems that are happening right now within corrections are very concerning. They are real and they need to be addressed,” she said.

Prior to becoming an MLA, Smith-McCrossin was a nurse and worked alongside other healthcare workers who spent time in Springhill.

Some of them mentally struggled with the work and environment, she said, which is why she feels there needs to be more mental-health support and benefits for officers.

“We need to start putting supports in place for people that are working there that are working with our highest risk offenders in the country,” Smith-McCrossin said.

“They’re dealing with people that have severe problems, that have sexually assaulted children, that have murdered people. And we’re asking people to work with them and to protect society. But clearly we’re not protecting them.”

While she recognizes Springhill is a federal institution, and she’s a provincial MLA, Smith-McCrossin feels she still needs to speak up for the community she represents.

Speaking from his Moncton office, Howe says the number of violent incidents in prisons across the country is only increasing.

Since January, Howe says the following incidents have been reported across the Atlantic region’s five CSC institutions:

-31 officers have been assaulted

-79 have been threatened

-There have been 68 inmate assaults

-337 weapons have been found and seized

- 65 cellphones have been found and seized

- 20 drone sightings have been reported

“Our staff are seeing more violence than we ever have before. It’s escalating,” he said. “I don’t think that this is a regional issue anymore, I don’t think it’s a local issue. I think this is a national issue.”

On May 15, Springhill Institution was placed under a multi-day lockdown to undergo an “exceptional search,” where contraband and unauthorized items were found.

In a statement to CTV News Friday, Laurence Côté, communications officer for CSC, outlined several factors the federal government agency is facing.

“The increase in the inmate population places pressure on institutions. Moreover, incarcerated individuals have increasingly complex profiles that include substance use issues and challenges related to behaviour management,” Côté wrote.

Contraband is exacerbating those challenges, and causing more tension among inmates, she said.

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Ottawa’s Spring Economic Update did promise some financial help for CSC to combat drone activity, and strengthen security measures.

“There is ongoing collaboration at both the national and regional levels to address these issues through mechanisms such as a working committee, where incidents are dissected in order to identify any gaps and implement solutions to address any safety and operational concerns,” Côté said.

Howe said the union is “more than willing” to work with CSC on these issues, saying it starts with better communication.

He did acknowledge there are some security measures being taken specifically at Springhill that he feels are positive. But more needs to be done across the country, Howe said.

“As you can expect, I’m pretty upset knowing that officers that I represent are having to go through this on a daily basis. This is unacceptable. And they deserve much better than this,” he said.