A photo taken Monday afternoon outside the Prince Albert Correctional Centre. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Correctional crisis

‘I am surprised no one got seriously hurt’: union responds to disturbance at P.A. Correctional

Jan 5, 2021 | 12:23 PM

A disturbance at the men’s jail in Prince Albert Monday highlights the risky job correctional officers face on a day-to-day basis, according to a spokesperson for the union that represents them.

Verne Larson, Legal Inspection and Regulatory Component Chair with the Saskatchewan Government Employees Union (SGEU), told paNOW the incident started around 2 p.m. and over the course of five hours, involved over a dozen inmates who broke a number of windows and started at least one fire.

“There is water damage to the building and there is a hole in the roof. I’m not sure how the hole in the roof got to be, perhaps from attacking the fire,” he said.

To assist the correctional officers on duty, both the Prince Albert Police Service and an emergency response team from Saskatoon were called in. Larson said two staff members suffered minor injuries during the incident.

“I am surprised no one got seriously hurt,” he said.

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Much has been said in recent weeks about rising tensions within the correctional facilities in response to COVID-19 protocols. During the incident Monday, inmates wrote the words “we’re getting treated like animals” on a towel and hung it out a window.

Larson, who oversees five correctional facilities in the province, said the incident Monday has less to do with COVID, and more to do with long standing issues at the jail.

“I deal with five of the correctional centres in this province and Prince Albert seems to have the worst problem with gang related incidents,” he said.

Two staff members who contacted paNOW Monday night described feelings of frustration with upper management, claiming nothing has been done to prevent incidents from escalating. In one case they explained that during a yard breach a couple of months ago, staff were being threatened personally and the guys who were leading the riot told staff “that was just a practice.”

The other staff member said there’s been multiple staff assaults, riots, and even a staff hostage taking in the past year and even months. Larson said SGEU’s first priority is the support of safety of its members, and committed to discuss with management the best way to proceed.

“This incident highlights how important and how risky these jobs are at this facility. Every day our members go to work knowing the risks they will face,” Larson said.

Response from Ministry of Corrections

According to a brief statement provided to paNOW Tuesday afternoon, the ministry confirmed there was a disturbance on one of the units at the Prince Albert Correctional Centre late Monday afternoon, on a unit that primarily houses gang-affiliated individuals on remand.

“The ministry has referred the incident to the police and will be conducting its own investigation. As this incident relates to the safety and security of a provincial correctional facility, the ministry is unable to provide any additional details,” the statement said.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell