INMATES CAN'T GET TREATMENT, TRAINING

PUBLIC SAFETY BEING PUT AT RISK, REPORTS FIND

Social agencies working in the federal prison system say the
Conservative government is ignoring the stark warnings in two recent
reports -- that public safety is at risk because inmates can't get the
treatment or training they need before finishing their sentences.

The annual report of the correctional investigator, and a special
review of the prison system commissioned by Public Safety Minister
Stockwell Day, paint an alarming picture of Canada's failure to
rehabilitate its convicts before they return to the street.

"It's a huge challenge for the Correctional Service of Canada to
provide programming," says Hugh Osler, executive director of the
Salvation Army's corrections branch in Toronto.

"I have no doubt that lack of money and resources are an
issue."

The Salvation Army is one of several independent agencies providing
counselling, rehabilitation and treatment programs to convicts inside
federal prisons as well as those on parole.

There is deep concern among these groups that the Harper government is
turning a blind eye to the fact that convicts, including many mentally
ill offenders, are languishing for months or years in jail without any
correctional programming at all, and in some cases are leaving prison
without being able to complete their prescribed programs.

The agencies are also worried that the government plans to put more
money into the system, not to solve programming shortages, but to
build and renovate jails to house more convicts under the
Conservatives' law and order agenda.

"Programming is in a crisis situation," says Jane Griffiths, president
of the Church Council on Justice and Corrections, which represents 11
churches that provide chaplaincy and counselling services to
offenders. "I think the public expects inmates will receive treatment
or counselling, but it's just not there.

"Our major concern is that any new money will be going into buildings
and not programming. There's very little programming now and this
means there'll be even less."

"My anxiety," adds Craig Jones, of the John Howard Society, "is that
the government is preparing to build and fill -- to lock more people
up, but not to treat them."

The government has said little about either the correctional
investigator's report or that of the correctional service review
panel, since receiving both studies last October.

Mr. Day says the government is still studying the reports and "sorting
through the recommendations."

But he disputes claims that the Correctional Service is failing to
deliver programs to inmates. Rather, he says, many inmates are
refusing to take available programs because they know that under
Canada's statutory release law, all but the most violent offenders
will be released from prison, under supervision, after two thirds of
their sentences.

"There may be a situation or individual case where part of a program
may not be immediately accessible," he said in an interview. "The far
greater problem is when offenders refuse to take any kind of program
because they know they're automatically going to get out (on statutory
release), whether they show an interest in education or work or not.
That's the larger problem."

The report of Correctional Investigator Howard Sapers, the
government's independent prisons ombudsman, said programming shortages
are now so severe that they've become a threat to public safety: "Too
many offenders spend their time in prison without getting the
correctional programs they need," the report said.

"The result is ongoing violence and despair on the inside and
increased risk of individuals reoffending once released."