A photo taken of Prince Albert Provincial Court. (File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Corrections

Courts, not province, control who is released from custody, Minister says

Dec 2, 2020 | 1:10 PM

The provincial minister in charge of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety says the government has no authority to control who is on remand or who is released from provincial correctional centres.

Christine Tell’s comment comes in direct response to renewed calls from several groups and agencies that suggest the release of non-violent, immunocompromised or elderly inmates, could help reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in jails.

“I’m hearing from a lot of people who are pretty scared” _{– Pierre Hawkins, JHSS.}

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Tell explained the inmates are remanded or sentenced by a court or a justice of the peace.

“You have to remember that our correctional facilities are the back end of the entire system so we can’t say we are not going to take people. There’s no such thing as a no vacancy sign regardless of what we are dealing with,” she said.

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Concerns related to social distancing at the jail were sparked last week after an outbreak at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre. In response, the province ceased all new admissions to the facility, and transferred those on remand and sentenced to facilities in Regina and Prince Albert. The province also issued a mask mandate for inmates.

Tell said overcrowding has been an issue at jails for over 20 years. She explained the government added 500 spaces since 2007, and there are now plans to add 44 more with the use of mobile trailers in Regina and Saskatoon.

“Hopefully that can alleviate some of the issues we are facing in our correctional facilities,” Tell said.

Response from front line workers

The John Howard Society of Saskatchewan (JHSS) directly assists individuals who are at risk or are involved in the criminal justice process, and is among the signatories on a recent joint letter sent to the Minister of Corrections and Policing, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and the Head of Public Prosecutions.

The letter requests “quick and drastic action to protect both inmates and staff members.”

Pierre Hawkins, Public Legal Counsel for the JHSS, told paNOW a great number of complaints and concerns he heard from inmates relates to the number of COVID cases at the facilities.

“There’s no doubt that there’s an atmosphere of sort of fear among inmates. It doesn’t help that they don’t have much to do in jail but sort of sit and worry,” he said.

One of the main reasons for the request to release inmates is to help create more space for social distancing. Hawkins explained he heard from a number of families that are concerned about jail conditions and what plans are in place to prevent the spread or if their family member contracts the virus.

“Generally speaking, I’m hearing from a lot of people who are pretty scared,” he said.

A number of people who commented on recent paNOW articles surrounding the potential release of inmates expressed concerns related to public safety and whether once released the inmate would be closely watched. Hawkins explained his group not asking for a “get out of jail free card.”

“At any given time there are all sorts of people in the community who are serving sentences. They are monitored by the correctional system and their releases are controlled. So generally speaking this is a model we use in other cases and there’s no reason we can’t use it now when we need it,” he said.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell