BIKER GANGS RULE ROOST IN QUEBEC JAILS

Ombudsman paints alarming picture of prison system run by $60-million
drug business

Montreal -- Quebec Public Security Minister Serge M8Anard is in the hot
seat after a devastating report that describes some provincial jails
as virtual drug supermarkets controlled by criminal biker gangs.

The report by Quebec's ombudsman, released Monday, painted an alarming
picture of drugs and violence behind bars: inmates stoned for days on
crack, drug traffickers operating under guards' noses and jailhouse
brawls between warring gangs that leave victims with broken bones.

The ombudsman, Daniel Jacoby, also cited concerns about the violation
of prisoners' rights, and warned that some detention centres don't
meet United Nations standards.

"There is a crisis situation," said Mr. Jacoby, an outspoken watchdog
whose blunt reports regularly skewer provincial governments.

Two broad causes were cited for the mounting tensions in Quebec's 17
correctional institutions, which house inmates serving sentences of
less than two years.

The Quebec government cut $5.2-million from its prison budget last
year, eliminating 600 jobs. And Quebec's vaunted police crackdown on
outlaw biker gangs has unwittingly pushed the illicit drug trade
inside prison walls.

Mr. Jacoby estimated that up to $60-million worth of drugs change
hands annually through the province's prison system, prompting him to
call the jails "a commercial enterprise of drug dealing." Some
prisoners even cancel their weekend passes to avoid being forced to
return to jail with drugs.

Relations with prison staff have degenerated. Staff members are
subject to intimidation and hostage-takings, and two guards have been
murdered in recent years.

Rising tensions are contributing to instances of rights violations
against inmates -- for example, those suspected of drug smuggling are
segregated beyond the legal 72-hour limit. Others are unfairly
subjected to solitary confinement, or are have their visiting rights
cancelled.

"The situation within Correctional Services is serious," Mr. Jacoby's
report says. "Major shortcomings must be corrected. This involves
putting a stop to certain abusive practices that violate our laws or
recognized international standards."

The ombudsman's report was welcomed by prison guards, who said it
confirms their observations. Daniel Legault, representing the guards'
union, told the newspaper La Presse that the Hells Angels control
Montreal's Bordeaux prison and some criminals deliberately get
themselves sent to jail so they can manage drug trafficking inside.

Mr. Jacoby said he receives frantic calls from mothers and wives of
inmates being transferred to Bordeaux, begging him to cancel the move.

The guards joined a prisoners' rights group and the ombudsman in
pressing the province to alleviate the problem.

Mr. M8Anard said he doubts he will get more money for prisons in the
next provincial budget.

The province is studying ways of lessening overcrowding.

Because judges are reducing jail sentences, criminals who would have
done time in federal penitentiaries are now finding themselves in
provincial prisons, Mr. M8Anard said.

About half of Quebec's 3,700 inmates have drug and alcohol problems,
and a third suffer from mental illness.