NEEDLE EXCHANGE FOR INMATES URGED

'People Are Leaving Prison Sicker Than When They Came In'

Needle exchanges would slow rampant hepatitis transmission among inmates
and prevent a health crisis in the general population, the ombudsman for
Canada's federal prisons said Wednesday.

The Correctional Service of Canada estimates up to 30 per cent of 12,500
inmates in the federal system are infected with hepatitis C, which can be
spread by sharing needles or during unprotected sex.

Howard Sapers, the national correctional investigator, said failing to
address the problem inside prisons could have dire implications for the
public when infected inmates are released.

"People are leaving prison sicker than when they came in," said Sapers, in
Calgary to address the local chapter of the John Howard Society.

Sapers added staff at some prisons have estimated up to 60 per cent of
inmates have hepatitis, and that the rate of HIV infection is generally 10
times higher in prison.

"The reality is, if drug use (in prison) continues, there is a mounting
public health risk," he said.

Sapers has been urging the government for months to implement the idea, now
being studied by the correctional service.

The union representing 5,700 correctional officers in the federal system
has already come out against it.

Giving inmates access to needles will place correctional officers at risk
of being infected with tainted blood -- either by offenders wielding
syringes as weapons, or by accidental exposure during cell searches, said a
union official.

"It does nothing except endanger us more," said Kevin Grabowsky, Prairie
region president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers.

Besides, Grabowsky said, other measures introduced by prison officials to
promote safe sex and reduce needle-sharing have done little to slow the
spread of hepatitis and HIV.

"Condoms didn't work, dental dams didn't work, bleach kits didn't work," he
said.

A better solution, said Conservative member of Parliament Kevin Sorenson,
would be for the CSC to put more effort into enforcing its prohibition
against drugs inside its institutions.

"I understand what they want to do. . . . However, we expect there to be a
zero tolerance of drugs in prison," said Sorenson, whose constituency is
home to the medium-security Drumheller Institution.

Sapers said needle exchanges are only one measure aimed at stamping out
drug use behind bars, as is enforcement.

"We have to use them all," he said.

Sapers' office received 8,100 complaints last year, up from approximately
7,600 the year before. Although some of those complaints are frivolous,
Sapers said his office launched investigations into about 3,000 cases --
many over access to health care, harassment from institutional staff or
disputes over inmate classification and placement.

"It's not, as some people would suggest, like we're getting people
complaining their food is cold," Sapers said.

Overall, however, he said Canada's prison system is a model for others
around the world.

"The vast majority of these interactions (between staff and inmates) are
helpful, they're lawful and they're in accordance with policy," he said.
"The Correctional Service of Canada probably operates one of the best
correctional services in the world."

Sapers said it's hypocritical for people to complain prisons are too cushy,
when at the same time they say they want inmates to emerge as productive
members of society.

"It's a little contradictory to complain that offenders have access to
education," he said.