Union concerned about slow repairs following 2016 riot at Sask Pen
Members of the union representing corrections officers at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary are raising concerns about a lack of available cell space following a riot at the institution nearly two years ago.
The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers said some 120 jail cells are still “offline” and unable to be used after the riot in December 2016, in which inmates ripped sinks, bed and toilets off walls, pulled lights and sprinklers from ceilings, and caused the death of one inmate. James Bloomfield, the union’s regional president, told paNOW that the lack of useable cells at the institution raises safety issues and is causing agitation amongst inmates.
“At this point, they’re still not back online, and you know that does create population pressures [and] sometimes results in staff assaults by frustration,” Bloomfield said. “Every cell that is down, every cell that we cannot use for our medium-security environment is again an additional pressure that’s put onto the populations, the staff, and everywhere within the institution. It becomes a problem.”
The December 14, 2016 riot at the penitentiary lasted approximately six hours and involved 131 inmates. The incident caused an estimated $3.5 million in damages, according to a report from the Correctional Service of Canada. The CSC report determined that several factors may have been at play leading up to the riot, including concerns over labour and food issues, recent changes in management and one inmate in particular with a history of inciting tensions amongst his peers.