DRUG-LAW CHANGES WOULD ENDANGER JAIL GUARDS: UNION

MAPLE RIDGE / Safety for staff at B.C. provincial jails could be
jeopardized by mandatory minimum sentences for drug dealers, according
to the union that represents guards.

Dean Purdy, chairman of the correctional and sheriff services branch
of the B.C. Government Employees' Union, said B.C. provincial jails
are understaffed and mandatory minimum sentences would aggravate the
situation.

The federal government has proposed an escalating scale of mandatory
minimum sentences for drug trafficking. If implemented, the proposal
could see a surge of new prisoners pack provincial jails.