PRISON GUARDS FACE RISING THREAT FROM VIOLENCE, DRUG ABUSE

OTTAWA -- More than 27 per cent of prisoners in B.C. are suspected of
drug use -- the highest in a national prison system that is rife with
increasingly violent prisoners, drug abuse and the growth of
organized crime, according to a new report by the Correctional
Service of Canada.

The report cites a 2006 internal audit that found that 9.9 per cent
of B.C. prisoners randomly selected tested positive for drugs, while
17.5 per cent of them refused to be tested. Since the service
considers refusal to be tested an indication of drug use, the
combined figure of more than 27 per cent suspected drug use was the
highest in the country.

The highest refusal rate after B.C. was in Quebec, at 25.4 per cent,
while the lowest rates were in the Prairie prisons, with an 18 per
cent failure/refusal rate.

John Williams, B.C. regional president for the Union of Canadian
Correctional Officers, said the figures probably reflect the general
availability of drugs in B.C.

"It's because we live on the coast and importing is easier," he said.
"In Saskatchewan it's a little harder -- it has to be transported."

The correctional service tabled its planning and priorities annual
report in the House of Commons Thursday.

It warns that "front-line staff have identified that the climate in
institutions is changing, with assaultive behaviour becoming more
pronounced and with more incidents of aggressive, intimidating
behaviour that is problematic but short of reportable assaults."

There were 764 incidents of major and minor assaults in federal
prisons in 2005-06, compared with 651 a year earlier and 695 in 2003-04.

The report says the number of new prisoners citing gang affiliations
has increased from 12 per cent in 1997 to 16 per cent this year, and
notes that drug trafficking is a "major contributor" to violence.

Some of the abuse is having a major impact, even if the physical
injuries are minimal to non-existent, according to the CSC.

"The increase in instances of bodily fluids and waste being thrown on
staff, and verbal assaults such as threats to harm, has only recently
been fully appreciated for its impact," it states.

"These incidents are now better understood as precursors to physical
violence and indicative of an ingrained lack of respect for others."

Finlay said the increase in violence is a result of a higher number
of violent younger convicts getting sentences of two or more years,
which results in them going to federal rather than provincial jails.

"These are usually younger offenders who are still quite prone to
violence," he said.

The CSC said it plans to introduce a "comprehensive gang management
strategy" that includes "intensive programs that target" violent offenders.

"A key part of the effort to provide better safety and security for
both staff and offenders will be to increase CSC capability to detect drugs."

The report, noting that prison employees as well as inmates must be
better screened, cites the 2006 drug interdiction audit that found
CSC was in "general compliance" with its expected performance.

But the audit said improvements are needed to meet the federal
government's stated position that drug and alcohol use and
trafficking in the prison system is intolerable.

The audit, which has received minimal media coverage, warned that the
growth of gangs and organized crime increases the perceived risk that
guards and other prison staff could be used to import drugs.

"The possibility of staff being compromised continues to be a threat
to CSC," the audit warned.

"As such, it is important that CSC utilizes available searching
techniques on staff members including the drug interdiction tools."

CSC officials failed to provide auditors with data on drugs being
brought into prisons by compromised staff members, although the
service did "note that this is a rare and irregular occurrence."

Williams said several B.C. prisons have problems with people throwing
drugs over their fences -- a situation that is worst at Matsqui
medium-security prison in Abbotsford.

But the main conduit for drugs remains prison visitors, said Williams.

Finlay said visitors are not usually given pat-down searches but are
subject to ion scans -- which detect drug residue on clothing.

Those who test positive are subject to further questioning.

"Most of them are refused entry," said Finlay. "But not all. There
may be a legitimate reason for the reading."

Williams said his union would like to see Corrections adopt a
zero-tolerance policy that would immediately refuse entry to anyone
with an ion-scan reading high enough to suggest direct contact with drugs.

"If you've had contact with drugs, your visit should be cancelled," he said.

Williams said drugs make life more difficult for guards, because they
can make inmates more violent and irrational.

And he said the drug trade itself can lead to assaults over unpaid debts.

The CSC report tabled Thursday also reported that aboriginal
offenders still remain grossly over-represented in the prison population.

While aboriginal adults make up 2.7 per cent of Canada's adult
population, they make up 17 per cent of total federal inmates.