ABBOTSFORD, BC, March 8, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - On Monday March 5th, a Correctional Officer working at Kent Institution was assaulted by an inmate while he was performing a verbal intervention to defuse a tense situation. The assault on the Correctional Officer occurred just days after the inmate was released from segregation and returned to general population. He was placed in segregation following a brutal fight with another inmate on February 24th 2018.
A decision was made by the Deputy Warden to release him from segregation against the recommendation of all the members of the inmate's case management team. The Institutional Parole Officer (IPO), the Assistant Warden, Interventions (AWI), the Segregation Correctional Manager as well as the Security Intelligence Officers department (SIO) were all recommending that the inmate should not be returned to his unit.
Kent Maximum Security Institution had a completely new management team put in place late last fall. Since the arrival of these managers who possess very minimal front line correctional experience in a maximum security prison, the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO-SACC-CSN) has raised concerns about decisions made and the impact on the safety of the Correctional Officers at Kent Institution. "In the past several months, management at Kent have shown poor judgement and decision making skills that pose serious consequences for the health and safety of Correctional Officers," says Derek Chin, Pacific Regional President of UCCO-SACC-CSN. "In a job like ours, trust and leadership shown by managers are critical. Currently, labour relations are extremely strained at Kent Institution because of the lack of trust and leadership. This worries us."
For the union, this assault at Kent is one of many. Since the implementation of new policies imposing stricter limits on segregation, there has been a noticeable increase in violent incidents inside the walls. The latest data released by the Office of the Correctional Investigator demonstrates a direct correlation between inmates prematurely being released back into regular population from segregation and assaults. "The assault that occurred Monday is a clear example of the dangerous consequences of the newly imposed desegregation strategy. You cannot drastically change an important and effective population management tool like segregation without having a proper procedure and plan to replace it. The new changes are just not working and are threatening the security of Correctional Officers and inmates", concludes Derek Chin.
About
Kent Institution is a maximum security facility located in the upper Fraser Valley, in British Columbia. A total of 300 Correctional Officers work at this facility. They are members of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO-SACC-CSN).
UCCO-SACC-CSN represents more than 7400 members across Canada's five major regions: Pacific, Prairies, Ontario, Québec and Atlantic. UCCO-SACC-CSN represents Correctional Officers in all 49 federal institutions.
SOURCE CSN
Corinne Blanchette, Union Advisor - CSN, Phone 604-870-0289, Cell 778-549-0258
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