LOOKING BEHIND THE BARS

Prisons figure large in the federal Conservative plan to tackle
crime. If Canada starts locking up more criminals for longer
sentences, it had better make sure the prisons are working properly.

The proposed review by an independent panel is a good start. Crime
policy must be based on facts, so the more we know about what's going
on in our prisons, the better. It will cost us, though: each of the
four panelists will get $1,000 a day for an estimated 50 days, and
the chairman, Rob Sampson, will get $1,200. The total budget could
reach $3.5 million.

Mr. Sampson's appointment has worried some because of his openness to
private-sector involvement in the corrections system. But
privatization is expressly excluded from the panel's mandate.

Mr. Sampson's tenure as a provincial minister of corrections from
1999 to 2002 was hardly an unabashed success. His populist attitude
did not do much good for Ontario's jails. Blame for shameful
overcrowding at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, for example,
lies with the Ontario government.

The attack on Desire Munyaneza, on trial for his alleged role in the
Rwanda genocide, was a reminder that prisons can be dangerous even
for people who warrant extra protection. The panel is charged with
examining security in prisons, as well as wider issues such as
mental-health services in prisons and communities.

It will also examine the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs.
About 36 per cent of federal offenders are convicted of new crimes
within two years of completing their sentences. About five per cent
of offenders commit new violent offences within two years. That's a
small number, but it's enough to make rehabilitation a key part of
justice policy, and the priority for this panel.