By Teena Monteleone and Taylor MacPherson

Segregation rates down at Sask. Penitentiary

Dec 2, 2016 | 1:00 PM

The use of segregation, also called solitary confinement, is on the decline within the Saskatchewan Penitentiary. 

According to numbers from Correctional Service Cananda, there were 479 admissions to segregation last year at the Prince Albert institution, compared to 633 in 2014-15. Of these cases, 22 were disciplinary, while the remainder were administrative. Disciplinary segregation is a punitive measure lasting up to 30 days, while administrative segregation can be imposed for inmate security or to protect an active investigation, and has no fixed duration.

“Administrative segregation is not a punitive measure,” Correctional Service Canada spokesperson Esther Mailhot said in a written statement to paNOW. “It is the separation, when specific legal requirements are met, of an inmate from other inmates.”

“We have seen admissions to segregation steadily and consistently decline over the last two years,” Mailhot said.

The downward trend follows calls from advocacy groups to completely eliminate use of the practice.

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According to the Elizabeth Fry Society of Saskatchewan, segregation is discriminatory and disproportionate, particularly when it comes to women, people with mental health issues and indigenous offenders. 

“We believe the use of segregation is not only contrary to the overall purposes of corrections, but it really can increase the risk of harm to prisoners,” Elizabeth Fry Society executive director Sue Delaney said.

Indigenous offenders spend more time in solitary confinement compared to other inmates, Delaney said. It’s a concern for Delaney because indigenous women are the fastest growing population in federal institutions, and women placed in segregation are also more likely to have a history of self-harm. She says being isolated means little access to therapeutic or intervention support and ultimately a less successful re-integration into society. 

Segregation has long been described by the United Nations as a form of torture. In 2011, countries were urged by the UN to ban the practice except in special cases.

Stan Stapleton, national president of the Union of Solicitor General Employees, worked as a correctional officer for 22 years. He said segregation is an essential tool, and inmates sometimes request administrative segregation, but rates should still be on the decline.

“If we are doing our jobs, then the offenders should be able to interact with other offenders and staff in a manner that is civil,” Stapleton said.

Corrections programming is essential to giving inmates the tools to successfully reintegrate upon release, Stapleton said. Segregated inmates, he said, are unlikely to have access to meaningful programs.

Highlighting the positive trend, Correctional Service Canada said there were 6,986 admissions to segregation across the country last year, compared to 8,523 two years ago. In the first half of this fiscal year (April 2016 – Sept. 2016) there were 255 admissions to segregation at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary, compared to 279 over the same period last year.

Teena.monteleone@jpbg.ca, taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

@TMacPhersonNews