(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

prison matter

Frustration grows after human waste thrown at penitentiary officers

Sep 12, 2019 | 5:48 PM

There is growing frustration among prison officers at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert after claims of a number of incidents involving inmates in the maximum security unit throwing human excrement.

Claims were made to paNOW by a source who requested anonymity for fear of retribution from the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). They said there had been multiple officers as well as a civilian staffer who had been hit with feces and urine in recent days. The areas directly outside cells were also being covered with human waste, according to the anonymous caller. While this was not a new phenomenon the caller said it was getting worse.

“There are no repercussions,” the complainant said. “He’s still in his cell watching TV and getting his legally entitled time out of his cell for recreation. They can throw feces on us, we’re stressed out in hospital and then having to get blood work done the next three months, but this guy is in his cell playing PlayStation.”

James Bloomfield, the regional president for the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO) said officers expected senior management to take stronger action against the offenders when this occurs, but claimed that wasn’t happening.

Unfortunately the [CSC] is more reactive to lawsuits than they are to assaults on their own staff _{– James Bloomfield,UCCO}

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“There are individuals who come in with mental health or anger issues and decide they’re going to express their anger by assaulting an officer with human waste,” he told paNOW. “Unfortunately, it happens way too often.”

Bloomfield accused the employer of “not doing much to deter these individuals” and claimed inmates had more legal protection than the officers.

“There are a lot of different legal matters that have been going on lately that have resulted in basically no legal repercussion for an inmate who assaults on officer.”

He added segregation of the offender doesn’t happen.

“When something like this happens we need to be able to take this inmate out of the area and ensure they are not going to be escalating the other hundred inmates around them,” he said.

Asked what management was expected to do, Bloomfield said it was a “population management issue” and officers wanted there to be immediate repercussions for offenders but “unfortunately the [CSC] is more reactive to lawsuits than they are to assaults on their own staff.”

paNOW reached out to Corrections Canada for comment but did not receive a response.

—

The following response was provided to paNOW Sept.16, which reads, in part:

The recent incidents at Saskatchewan Penitentiary have been addressed as required under the Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) protocol and the institution’s management team continues to engage in discussions with affected staff to ensure the best possible support is offered in these situations.

These incidents are often spontaneous and unpredictable, making it difficult for staff, whether affected directly or indirectly, and for the correctional officers who manage and deal with the risks immediately thereafter.

In cases of assaults with bodily fluids, criminal charges can be laid against the inmate responsible.

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow