HUMILIATING SEARCH HAS WOMAN FUMING

LONDON, ONT. - A woman is fighting for answers after she and her two
children were subjected to a humiliating search before visiting her
imprisoned husband.

'I can't believe they can do stuff like that' Donetta Burton Donetta
Burton of London, Ont., was detained in a cold, locked room at Fenbrook - a
medium-security prison near Gravenhurst, Ont. - and told to stand in front
of a glass window so she could be observed.

She wasn't allowed to feed or change her baby for five hours, and her
11-year-old daughter was denied access to a washroom.

A drug dog was brought in. Burton and her children were then searched in
full public view. After nothing was found, the visit went ahead.

"Six hours in a room in front of everybody, being humiliated and degraded,"
Burton said. "I can't believe it; to this day I can't believe they can do
stuff like that."

One answer for Burton's ordeal is that a device called an ion scanner went
off, indicating she may have been carrying drugs. But she was not told this
at the time, nor was she ever told why she was being held.

The scanner is used in prisons across Canada, but state authorities in
Massachusetts have banned its use because of its unreliability. For example,
some perfumes can trigger false positives.

For Anik Morrow, Burton's lawyer, the incident was an illegal act of
detention.

"If this is the the way (the Correctional Service of Canada) treats women
and children, then it's definitely time for the CSC to acknowledge profound
systemic dysfunction in its institutional culture."

Fenbrook's officials won't talk about the specific case, but spokesperson
Annette Allen said the institution has to balance the positives of family
visits with the need to keep drugs out.

Burton has complained to the Solicitor General, the police and the ombudsman
for federal prisons.

A formal review of the incident obtained by CBC Radio called Fenbrook's
treatment of Burton "uncaring" and improper.