The Prince Albert Correctionl Centre was among the province's jails highlighted in this week's auditor's report. (File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Corrections

Provincial Auditor’s report shines spotlight on segregation incidents at province’s jails

Dec 8, 2022 | 12:11 PM

Some red flags have been raised by the provincial auditor with respect to policies involving segregation at the province’s jails. Tara Clemett’s 2022 report was released on Tuesday.

In 2021, the Ministry of Corrections, Policing, and Public Safety had 54 placements of 49 inmates on administrative segregation. Over half were due to violent or aggressive behaviour.

Between January 2021 and April 2022, 13 inmates were on administrative segregation greater than 15 days. In one case, one placement was for 43 days straight.

“Good practice expects inmates to be on administrative segregation no longer than 15 consecutive days,” the report read.

Number of Inmate Placements on Administrative Segregation. (Adapted from the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, Administrative Segregation Annual Report, 2021, p. 8.)

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Administrative segregation is used in correctional centres to keep an inmate away from the general population for safety or security reasons.

The facilities reviewed for the report were the men’s jails in Prince Albert, Saskatoon, and Regina, as well as the women’s facility in Prince Albert (Pine Grove). Clemett explained effective processes to administratively segregate inmates contribute to the safety and well-being of inmates and staff.

“Unnecessary or prolonged segregation may leave vulnerable inmates with irreparable mental and physical health damage that may lead to higher healthcare costs (e.g., self-harm injuries) and, in extreme cases, to avoidable life loss (e.g., suicide),” she wrote.

Based on findings, the report this week contains a number of recommendations for the ministry including having appropriate staff authorize administrative segregation placement decisions, and having inmate appeals reviewed by independent adjudicators. Also, all decisions relating to segregation must be formally communicated to inmates.

“We tested 20 inmate files and found staff did not sign 12 administrative segregation placement forms to indicate they verbally informed the inmate of the reason for placement and their right to contact a lawyer,” the report stated.

Another recommendation is for the ministry to broaden its quality assurance reviews to assess compliance with all key policies, including appropriately documenting daily reviews (i.e., daily meetings with segregated inmates) and adequately completing healthcare assessments.

As part of the review, it was discovered three healthcare assessments were not completed as required; seven of the 13 healthcare assessments were completed late, and 10 of the 13 completed assessments did not include information about inmates’ ability to cope with administrative segregation or recommend whether placement could continue or be discontinued.

“We also interviewed four correctional centre nurses and found a lack of understanding on when healthcare assessments should be carried out. For example, some nurses still referred to a 21-day review, which no longer exists,” the report said.

Reasons for Inmate Placement on Administrative Segregation. (Adapted from the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, Administrative Segregation Annual Report, 2021, p. 8)

Additional recommendations include developing an ongoing training plan for correctional centre staff involved in administrative segregation; enhancing written reports to senior management and the public about the use of administrative segregation

“Regular refresher training on administrative segregation processes and enhanced quality assurance evaluations will increase the likelihood correctional centre staff consistently follow administrative segregation policy requirements such as daily inmate meetings and healthcare assessments,” Tara Clemett said in a statement. “This ensures inmates are treated equitably in line with good practice or adjustments to conditions are made timely.”

In her report, the provincial auditor also noted the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety does not report information about the use of administrative segregation to the public and cited how other jurisdictions publicly report some information on administrative segregation on their government websites.

For example, both Yukon and Ontario include the number of placements on administrative segregation, the length of stay, and some demographic information about the inmates. The report from the auditor strongly suggests Saskatchewan follow suit.

“Publicly reporting information about the use of administrative segregation would help the Ministry demonstrate its commitment to reducing the over-use of segregation, enhance accountability, and encourage oversight,” the report said.

In 2021–22, the Ministry spent $171 million on custody services. The Ministry’s Custody Services Unit (in its Custody, Supervision and Rehabilitation Services Division) had 1,873 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff (i.e., 54% of the Ministry’s 3,491 FTE) at March 31, 2022.

At March 2022, Saskatchewan had over 1,800 inmates in its adult secure-custody correctional centres of which about 44 per cent are sentenced and 56 per cent are on remand.

The Provincial Auditor is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. The Office promotes accountability and better management by providing Legislators and the public with an independent assessment of the government’s use of public resources.

Reaction from an inmate advocate

Sherri Maier, with Beyond Prison Walls Canada, expressed her hope the province follows the auditor’s recommendations.

“I don’t know how many more deaths need to happen inside prisons and jails before they start to do something,” she said, citing the recent public inquiry into the death of Curtis McKenzie, as well as two very recent deaths at Sask. Pen.

Maier agreed with the auditor’s recommendation for better training, stating there are people making decisions they are not qualified to make.

“These guards need to start getting mental health assessments done, psychological assessments, like police do, for dealing with people in those situations,” she said.

Further noting her own lack of surprise at the extended levels of segregation, Maier explained being alone for that length of time with minimal human contact and no access to a television or even a book, can have damaging effects and can increase someone’s aggressive behavior.

“I remember when I was young and I had a hamster and we never took it out of the cage, then when we finally decided to take it out of the cage it bit us and we had to get rid of it,” she said.

Maier noted a new provincial class action lawsuit is headed to the courts in the new year. She explained that while she’s glad to see people getting justice, it’s sad that people have to lose their lives for the action to be started.

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell