GANGSTERS TARGETING JAIL STAFF

Manitoba justice officials admit to an increasing number of attempts
by gang members to "corrupt" their employees following a series of
recent incidents -- including drug smuggling and sexual contact with
inmates -- that led to the firing of three corrections officers at
Headingley jail.

"Efforts are being made to intimidate our staff," Reg Forester, the
province's executive director of adult custody, said Tuesday. "This is
an exceedingly serious matter inside the jail."

Forester was responding to a Free Press story, which chronicled three
cases in the past several months that have set off alarm bells within
the justice department: a female correctional officer caught on
videotape fondling a gang member under a table; a female correctional
officer caught having sexual contact with another gang member inside a
storage closet; and a female correctional officer caught smoking
marijuana while on duty.

Forester said changes are being made to help keep employees on the
right side of the law by improving the screening of potential new
hires, bolstering security measures behind bars and providing
additional training to corrections officers

"We're always trying to tighten the criteria, to ensure people who
shouldn't be working in our system do not work in our system," he said.

Forester believes criminals have been "exceedingly unsuccessful in
getting our staff to turn" but admits it only takes a few incidents
like the ones above to paint all staff members with a negative brush.
But he said it's a difficult fight as jail populations continue to
soar above capacity and a rising number of gangsters are
incarcerated.

"As long as there are inmates and as long as there are gangs, there
will be efforts to turn our staff. This is going to continue on as
long as there are jails," he said.

The Free Press uncovered exclusive new details on Tuesday about the
incidents, while several current and former employees also spoke out
about what they've witnessed from inside the medium-security jail.

A source who works in the community with gang members told the Free
Press they personally witnessed one young man deliver a bag of
marijuana to one of the now-fired female Headingley corrections
officers in early December during a meeting at the Merchants Hotel on
Selkirk Avenue. The woman claimed she would then take the drugs to the
man's incarcerated brother as part of a pre-arranged deal she'd
allegedly brokered with him.

"This is just absolute wrong," said the source, who didn't want their
name or job description made public.

A corrections employee who contacted the Free Press on Tuesday said
two of the three women fired had been involved in drug smuggling for
inmates. He accused jail management of "sweeping these criminal acts
under the rug" by refusing to tell the public or even other employees
about what had happened.

"What would be the harm in letting the public know that out of more
than 1,000 employees, you occasionally have a bad apple or two?" he
asked.

"Inappropriate sexual relationships between guards and inmates, while
not common, occur more frequently than most people would guess. This
is not the real story -- the real story is the three, maybe four or
five times over a half dozen years that senior officials of the
facility, presumably with the consent of their political masters,
allow 'dirty' officers to be quietly fired and not subject to the
justice system for their criminal behaviour."

Another former employee, who has since moved to another department in
corrections, said Tuesday she also witnessed several examples of drug
smuggling and inappropriate sexual contact between guards and inmates.

"I realized that this profession breaks even the most hardened person.
It corrupts people in the sickest ways possible. The 'bad' guards are
not nearly investigated enough, nor disciplined enough, and the 'good'
ones pay the price for it. They lose a lot of great employees for this
reason, and it's no wonder that the staff they've hired in recent
years has been less than desirable," the employee said.

Forester denied a coverup but admitted the province has a policy not
to discuss internal matters in the public domain. He said all cases
where criminal acts are alleged to have occurred are being sent to
police for investigation and have "severe" consequences for employees
found to have done wrong.

"But sometimes these (incidents) aren't very easy to pin down," he
said, citing a lack of co-operation from the criminals who may be involved.

RCMP Sgt. Line Karpish said Tuesday no provincial corrections officers
have been charged with any offence for at least the past year. She
couldn't say if there are any ongoing investigations pertaining to the
recently fired employees but admitted RCMP do investigate incidents at
Headingley "every week."

"Typically, they get complaints of mischief (damage to the
institution), assaults and uttering threats largely amongst the
inmates, but from time to time also against the staff," said Karpish.

Tory deputy justice critic Gerald Hawranik said Tuesday the Doer
government is obliged to investigate the allegations, which could
point to a larger problem within the jail.

"There's a duty on behalf of the minister of justice to determine
whether the incidents are true and correct," said Hawranik. "Those
kinds of allegations affect morale and I know many corrections
officers have low morale already because of the working conditions and
the overcrowding."

*SIDEBAR*

Corrections officer lowdown

What they're called: Jail guard is slang for a corrections officer,
like cop versus police officer.

Their education: Completion of secondary school is necessary, and
post-secondary training may be required in courses like counselling,
criminology or social work. Corrections officers in federal prisons
like Stony Mountain Institution must complete a Corrections Canada
course.

What they do: Supervise prisoners and detainees, and keep order in
correctional facilities. Duties might include going on patrols,
preparing reports, escorting prisoners in transit and supervising
prisoners during work assignments, meals and recreation. Provincial
corrections officers like those at the Headingley Correctional Centre
are not armed. Some federal corrections officers have guns, but
they're mainly used for perimeter security and emergencies.

What they earn: About $42,000 starting salary, to a high of about
$64,000. Supervisors make more.

HOW MANY: About 1,000 people were estimated to work as correctional
service officers in Manitoba in 2008.