TOUGH JOB AS PRISON GUARD GETTING TOUGHER

Union Says Drugs, Weapons, Assaults Are All On The
Rise

If any occupation qualifies for the "it's a tough job but somebody's
gotta do it" description, it has to be a federal prison guard.

And these days, working as a corrections officer for Correctional
Service Canada (CSC) carries an unnecessarily high level of risk.

At least that was the message last week from Gord Robertson, president
of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (Pacific Region), on
behalf of 890 corrections officers who work in eight federal prisons
throughout the Fraser Valley.

These prisons hold 2,000 to 2,500 inmates serving anywhere from a few
years in minimum security to life in maximum security.

In the last few weeks alone, there have been three lockdowns within
the Valley's prison system due to contraband such as drugs and
homemade weapons or assaults.

Robertson, a former correctional officer now employed full time by the
union, is speaking out because his members here and across Canada are
still waiting for the stab-resistant vests promised last June.

However, this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of corrections
officer complaints and concerns over Canada's prison system becoming
an increasingly dangerous place for both guards and inmates.

A 56-page union brief presented last June to an independent federal
review panel on the CSC's future paints a disturbing picture of the
increasing dangers the men and women who guard federal inmates face
daily.

It shows that as a percentage, the number of prisoners in maximum
security has doubled to 15 per cent over the last decade. More
important, this is accompanied by an "alarming rise in violence"
behind prison walls.

It says in 2005-06, the CSC recorded 933 assaults by inmates,
including 376 against correctional staff; that represents a
28-per-cent increase over the preceding year. These assaults caused
764 injuries, including 243 among CSC staff.

It also says there's a significant increase in inmate affiliations
with gangs and organized crime, more drug abuse, more serious
mental-health disorders and higher rates of infection with hepatitis
C/HIV.

So our prisons are becoming more dangerous for guards and inmates,
Robertson notes.

"Concealed homemade weapons are a particular concern," he adds.
"Inmates are very creative in how they make weapons out of things like
plastic chairs, dinner trays, etc., and in a lot of cases they make
them to defend themselves against other inmates."

And if an inmate is caught with a deadly weapon the consequences are
minimal, the report shows. Where the average fine in Canada is $10 to
$20, the same inmate in a U.S. prison would have two or three years
added to his or her sentence.

The report also shows CSC is sometimes reluctant to make changes to
make working conditions safer. For example, officers had to fight hard
for authorization to carry handcuffs as a restraining/ protective
measure in breaking up inmates' fights.

"The CSC felt that our carrying handcuffs would intimidate the inmates
and interfere with their rehabilitation," Robertson said. "That was
absurd."

Nor is the battle to acquire stab-resistant vests over.

Asked when the vests will arrive, CSC Pacific Region spokeswoman Line
Guibert-Wolff said: "We're in the procurement process but no delivery
date has been set. But the safety and security of everyone including
staff, inmates and the public is paramount with us."

The guards don't see it that way.

"Correctional officers in our medium- and maximum-security units feel
as if they are working in an armed camp," says their brief.