Corrections needs professionalism
By Murray Mandryk, Saskatchewan News Network; Regina Leader-Post
March 13, 2009 Source: Corrections needs professionalism
Certainly, William Peet's report on the Aug. 24 escape from the Provincial
Correctional Centre in Regina proves there's enough blame to go around.
A bit of it should go to Corrections and Public Safety Minister Darryl Hickie, who
wasn't exactly vindicated over the 15 hours it took his ministry to inform the public
that six convicts had escaped and five were still on the loose. In fact, we still have
no idea how this communication breakdown happened, because virtually the entire
page of the report that dealt with how Hickie was informed was blacked out.
Redaction of this report got to the ridiculous point of blacking out the names of
the gangs in the jail. Remember Hickie's claim last August that there were no
gangs in the jail? Peet's report reveals that 102 of the 452 (22.5 per cent)
prisoners are affiliated with gangs.
While the government responded seriously to Peet's report by allocating $87 million
for a new remand centre in Saskatoon and another $9.4 million to upgrade security
equipment and by emphasizing staff training and development, it's significant that
it chose not to blame anyone.
Not one individual was fired, disciplined or singled out. How can the guards
bear no responsibility for failing to notice that convicts had been digging away for
four months with a nail clipper?
As Peet put it, while he can accept one inmate might get away with deceiving one
corrections worker on any particular shift, it's unacceptable that "an entire
corridor of inmates can deceive at least 87 different corrections workers
between April 24 and Aug. 24, 2008, and engineer an escape of this
magnitude."
Some blame should also be placed on the former NDP government that oversaw the
physical deterioration of the facility and even may have exacerbated poor relations
between workers and management at the facility.
One can only shake one's head at the former government's policy, as noted in the
report, of allowing union representatives to consult directly with its Corrections
minister (that would be former jail guard Kevin Yates) "over issues that could not
be resolved at the local level."
Notwithstanding the contributions of our politicians to the jail-break debacle and
the events that followed, the vast majority of the blame falls on those employed at
the facility -- both managers and guards. Unless someone gets really serious about
fixing what's clearly an unprofessional and dysfunctional relationship, no amount of
new cameras, better cell doors or even a new prison will solve anything.
The temptation upon reading the report is to blame the guards alone. It does seem
as if the union got off lightly in Thursday's report. Peet drilled into the corporate
culture at the Regina jail, where shop stewards were "protective of employee
benefits" and, "for the most part, resistant to any suggestions that
management may put forth."
His report referred to "a number of correction workers who don't want to interact
with inmates" and worse, of workers who deliberately excluded information that
was critical to his investigation -- i.e.: that a security breach had been covered
with a wet paper towel and the guard failed to notice -- because they didn't
"want to rat out on a brother or sister." (=Camera's continually covered with
wet paper towels...for four months)
That tires were slashed in the parking lot and a plastic rat was hung on in the
window of the guards' control centre suggests an atmosphere of intimidation.
Yet, Peet said Thursday he was more inclined to blame management, which
certainly has to bear full responsibility for not responding to the tip from police in
July about the jail break and was most responsible for not ensuring the public was
immediately informed.
While it's tough to buy into Saskatchewan Government and General Employees
Union president Bob Bymoen's take that the problem is the "absence of clear
direction and leadership," Peet's report notes that managers at the jail would turn
a "blind eye" to the newspapers and Internet use that was distracting guards from
their duties.
What is clear is that neither the politicians nor the money they spend will
guarantee a fix to problems in corrections. The solution lies with both union and
management being more professional.
________________________
Unionized Government Employee's, and their Management which
are still in the same union but considered as "out of scope" members.
You just gotta love them. Nobody looses their job, or even gets a
reprimand. Unreal...
"That tires were slashed in the parking lot and a plastic rat was hung on in the
window of the guards' control centre suggests an atmosphere of intimidation."
This isn't being done by the inmates, but by unionized employees
against other unionized employees. Sounds like many of the Guards
and Management are on the wrong side of the bars....
___________________
By Murray Mandryk, Saskatchewan News Network; Regina Leader-Post
March 13, 2009 Source: Corrections needs professionalism
Certainly, William Peet's report on the Aug. 24 escape from the Provincial
Correctional Centre in Regina proves there's enough blame to go around.
A bit of it should go to Corrections and Public Safety Minister Darryl Hickie, who
wasn't exactly vindicated over the 15 hours it took his ministry to inform the public
that six convicts had escaped and five were still on the loose. In fact, we still have
no idea how this communication breakdown happened, because virtually the entire
page of the report that dealt with how Hickie was informed was blacked out.
Redaction of this report got to the ridiculous point of blacking out the names of
the gangs in the jail. Remember Hickie's claim last August that there were no
gangs in the jail? Peet's report reveals that 102 of the 452 (22.5 per cent)
prisoners are affiliated with gangs.
While the government responded seriously to Peet's report by allocating $87 million
for a new remand centre in Saskatoon and another $9.4 million to upgrade security
equipment and by emphasizing staff training and development, it's significant that
it chose not to blame anyone.
Not one individual was fired, disciplined or singled out. How can the guards
bear no responsibility for failing to notice that convicts had been digging away for
four months with a nail clipper?
As Peet put it, while he can accept one inmate might get away with deceiving one
corrections worker on any particular shift, it's unacceptable that "an entire
corridor of inmates can deceive at least 87 different corrections workers
between April 24 and Aug. 24, 2008, and engineer an escape of this
magnitude."
Some blame should also be placed on the former NDP government that oversaw the
physical deterioration of the facility and even may have exacerbated poor relations
between workers and management at the facility.
One can only shake one's head at the former government's policy, as noted in the
report, of allowing union representatives to consult directly with its Corrections
minister (that would be former jail guard Kevin Yates) "over issues that could not
be resolved at the local level."
Notwithstanding the contributions of our politicians to the jail-break debacle and
the events that followed, the vast majority of the blame falls on those employed at
the facility -- both managers and guards. Unless someone gets really serious about
fixing what's clearly an unprofessional and dysfunctional relationship, no amount of
new cameras, better cell doors or even a new prison will solve anything.
The temptation upon reading the report is to blame the guards alone. It does seem
as if the union got off lightly in Thursday's report. Peet drilled into the corporate
culture at the Regina jail, where shop stewards were "protective of employee
benefits" and, "for the most part, resistant to any suggestions that
management may put forth."
His report referred to "a number of correction workers who don't want to interact
with inmates" and worse, of workers who deliberately excluded information that
was critical to his investigation -- i.e.: that a security breach had been covered
with a wet paper towel and the guard failed to notice -- because they didn't
"want to rat out on a brother or sister." (=Camera's continually covered with
wet paper towels...for four months)
That tires were slashed in the parking lot and a plastic rat was hung on in the
window of the guards' control centre suggests an atmosphere of intimidation.
Yet, Peet said Thursday he was more inclined to blame management, which
certainly has to bear full responsibility for not responding to the tip from police in
July about the jail break and was most responsible for not ensuring the public was
immediately informed.
While it's tough to buy into Saskatchewan Government and General Employees
Union president Bob Bymoen's take that the problem is the "absence of clear
direction and leadership," Peet's report notes that managers at the jail would turn
a "blind eye" to the newspapers and Internet use that was distracting guards from
their duties.
What is clear is that neither the politicians nor the money they spend will
guarantee a fix to problems in corrections. The solution lies with both union and
management being more professional.
________________________
Unionized Government Employee's, and their Management which
are still in the same union but considered as "out of scope" members.
You just gotta love them. Nobody looses their job, or even gets a
reprimand. Unreal...
"That tires were slashed in the parking lot and a plastic rat was hung on in the
window of the guards' control centre suggests an atmosphere of intimidation."
This isn't being done by the inmates, but by unionized employees
against other unionized employees. Sounds like many of the Guards
and Management are on the wrong side of the bars....
___________________
