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Prisoners’ advocates are ramping up calls to release lower-risk offenders after the Correctional Service Canada (CSC) confirmed COVID-19 cases in two penitentiaries — and are warning that maintaining crowded conditions behind bars during a global pandemic could have disastrous consequences.
Prisoners’ advocates are ramping up calls to release lower-risk offenders after the Correctional Service Canada (CSC) confirmed COVID-19 cases in two penitentiaries — and are warning that maintaining crowded conditions behind bars during a global pandemic could have disastrous consequences.
On Monday, Correctional Service Canada (CSC) confirmed its first cases of COVID-19 at two federal prisons in Quebec, with both inmates and staff testing positive.
Two inmates and nine employees are infected at Port-Cartier maximum security prison. CSC said it has taken a number of measures to stop the spread there, including cleansing the institution with disinfectant, providing masks to workers and introducing enhanced screening for anyone entering the institution.
CSC has reported two other COVID-19 cases at Joliette Institution for Women, northeast of Montreal. CSC has not said yet if those infected at Joliette are inmates or staff.
Justin Piché, a criminologist who runs the Criminalization and Punishment Project at the University of Ottawa, argued CSC must engage in a depopulation strategy to save lives.
He said letting people out of halfway houses out could free up room for federal prisoners nearing parole eligibility, while many prisoners could be safely released with food and housing supports.
“If measures are not taken to safely depopulate federal penitentiaries, in the best case scenario tensions and authoritarian measures such as lockdowns will increase behind the walls, which undermines community safety in the long term,” Piché said.
“In the worst-case scenario, CSC will need to order more body bags and find cold storage to stack up the bodies of those whose lives will be lost that could have been saved.”
For those who can’t be let out, Piché urged CSC to do in practice what it has promised to do on paper: provide information to prisoners, step up cleaning and disinfection and expand access to personal hygiene products.
Piché said CSC also should provide inmates with free telephone calls and legal and community supports, and access to prison canteens to supplement their diets.
The union representing Canada’s correctional officers rejected the calls to release offenders, saying they suggest a “complete disregard for public safety.”
Union warns of risks with release
“The focus must be on changing routines in our institutions to respect social distancing and self-isolation practices to every extent possible. Canada is in crisis, and its citizens are already dealing with a potentially deadly threat. It is irresponsible to introduce further threats into our communities,” reads a statement from the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO).
The union urged the government to adopt more stringent testing for all staff.
“In order to keep the front lines strong in our institutions, there may be a requirement to test employees who may not be showing symptoms but may have had contact with a confirmed positive individual, as quarantining such asymptomatic employees for a 14-day period may not be operationally feasible,” the union said.
The union also called on CSC to ramp up education efforts and provide more guidance on public health officials’ recommendations on physical distancing, minimizing group gatherings, proper hygiene and self-isolation techniques.
Higher-risk environments
CSC manages more than 23,000 inmates. About 14,000 of them are incarcerated and another 9,000 are under community supervision.
Prisons, like nursing homes and long-term care facilities, are considered higher-risk environments.
They are typically crowded, stressful environments with disproportionately high levels of chronic diseases — often because of a large number of offenders with past drug or alcohol addictions and histories of poor nutrition.
Catherine Latimer, executive director of the John Howard Society of Canada, said she is “furious” that the federal government has failed to start depopulating prisons safely and quickly.
“If the PM is relying on CSC to make this happen, it’s folly,” she said.
Latimer is recommending a release strategy prioritizing:
- Offenders who already have been identified as low risk and already have been approved for full parole, day parole or unescorted temporary absences.
- Offenders who have residences or families where they could be placed under house arrest and subjected to electronic monitoring, or other conditions deemed necessary to protect public safety.
- Offenders who are particularly vulnerable, such as those who are elderly, immuno-compromised or have chronic illnesses.
CSC said it is working to prevent infections through suspending visits, temporary absences into the community and transfers of inmates.
“As we continue our critical work to uphold public safety during this time, we will monitor the situation closely and continue to work with public health authorities, our employees and unions to ensure that appropriate measures are in place for the ongoing protection and safety of our employees and inmates,” CSC said in a statement.
