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Concerns that police departments in Ontario are not pursuing justice for correctional officers when inmates threaten, intimidate or assault staff working in provincial correctional facilities.
Toronto (13 June 2012 ) - The chair of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) justice workers has written to Ron Bain, executive director for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) raising concerns about how some Ontario police departments view the work that correctional officers do.
Dan Sidsworth, who represents justice workers for OPSEU/NUPGE, tells Bain that it "has been reported to me that Ontario Police Services has not pursued charges against offenders for threatening, intimidating, or assaulting staff working in provincial correctional facilities as a general practice, that threats and assaults 'are inherent in our work'. If this is the policy of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police I find it completely inappropriate, and demonstrates a lack of understanding of our work."
Sidsworth points out that the provinces' "correctional facilities are overcrowded with intermittent sentenced offenders, female and mental health offenders. The proportion of inmates with mental health problems has dramatically increased. To add to this the chronic level of understaffing and increased levels of lockdowns in our facilities has made our work even more challenging."
"Last year in Ontario Correctional facilities 485 correctional officers were assaulted by inmates. Since February of this year we have had four riots in our correctional facilities. Without the legal protection for our members the working conditions in provincial jails is spiraling out of control. Our members are afforded the same protection as every citizen in Ontario with additional protection found in section 423.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada, Intimidation of a justice system participant."
Sidsworth ends the letter by calling on the OACP to support OPSEU/NUPGE in seeing that those offenders who threaten, intimidate or assault staff in correctional facilities are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Among the staff of Ontario's correctional facilities are correctional officers, nurses, food service personnel, probation and parole officers, provincial bailiffs and support staff.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE