PRISON RIOT BLAMED ON DRUG CRACK DOWN

A report by Correctional Services Canada has confirmed that stricter
anti-drug strategies played a role in fomenting a major riot at Mountain
Institution that left two inmates dead and thousands of dollars in
damages.

A heavily censored copy of the national investigation report – obtained by
The Progress through a Freedom of Information request – listed inmate
dissatisfaction with increased drug control strategies, introduced by then
new warden Alex Lubimit, as a precipitating factor to the riot.

The report confirms a story first published by The Progress last July.

A riot broke out at the federal institution on March 29, 2008 that lasted
for four hours, trapped correctional officers behind shaky, locked doors
and left two inmates dead, one murdered, one overdosed.

The report states that the inmate population had been expressing
frustration for months prior to the riot over a series of institutional
lockdowns, a chronic shortage of institutional parole officers, long waits
for prison programs, not enough inmate jobs, and a pending smoking ban.

The family visiting event held at the institution in the afternoon of
March 29 was the breaking point, says the report.

Upgraded controls to reduce drugs from coming into the institution were
implemented at the social, which included the use of an ion scanner and a
drug dog to detect visitors for drugs. Visitor washroom use was also
restricted at the event – all of which led to increased tension among the
inmate population, says the report.

"We had some drug activities that were going on here that were quite
prevalent," said warden Alex Lubimit, in an interview with The Progress,
of his reasons for the increased controls.

"I did not want drugs coming in here. My feeling is that the inmates were
quite upset because some of the drugs that they would have liked to come
in didn't get in. I think five people got turned away because of the ion
scanner and the drug dog."

The report says that while the measures used to screen visitors were
appropriate, there weren't enough resources in place to efficiently handle
the visitors coming in.

"There were lengthy delays that led to an increase in the level of
frustration in the inmate population," says the report.

Inmates were called to the visiting area as soon as their visitors had
arrived, but "due to processing delays, the inmates were then waiting for
considerable periods of time during which their frustration level was
building," says the report.

Mountain has not conducted a family visiting event since the riot. In
future, the same security measures will be implemented, however, to keep
the wait times minimal, the institution plans to process the visitors
first, then bring out the inmates, said Lubimit.

The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers declined to comment until it
has an opportunity to review an uncensored copy of the national
investigation report.