New Nova Scotia data raises concerns about use of solitary confinement
HALIFAX — Close to a quarter of solitary confinements in Nova Scotia’s jails are due to medical issues or protection from other inmates, according to recent figures offering a glimpse of why offenders in the province spend weeks buried in virtual isolation.
Experts say the statistics are worrying, especially when isolation is used for non-disciplinary reasons.
“You’re denied access to human interaction, you have very limited access to the outside world. … It’s a very austere form of confinement,” says Howard Sapers, who recently prepared recommendations for reforms on the use of segregation in Ontario.
“Segregation is not therapeutic,” said the former Correctional Investigator of Canada.