INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED INTO DEATH AT MAPLE RIDGE PRISON

BC Corrections has launched an internal investigation following what
is believed to be the drug-related death of a prisoner Tuesday night.

Ridge Meadows RCMP was called to the Fraser Regional Correctional
Centre in Maple Ridge at around 7 p.m. to attend to a 32-year-old
male, said Cpl. Alanna Dunlop.

The BC Coroners Service also attended and will be performing an
autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

A BC Corrections spokeswoman confirmed to The Vancouver Sun that a
prisoner died on Tuesday but would not provide further details.

"Consistent with standard practice, BC Corrections will be completing
an internal investigation of the circumstances of this individual's
death," said Marnie Mayhew.

The investigation is expected to be completed within a month.

Dean Purdy, chair of corrections and sheriff services at the B.C.
Government and Service Employees' Union, said overcrowding has made
it increasingly difficult to effectively monitor all prisoners.

Fraser Regional is also the temporary holding area for hundreds of
Sri Lankan asylum-seekers who arrived aboard the MV Sun Sea in August.

"The Fraser Regional Correctional Centre is a maximum security jail
that was built for 254 inmates," said Purdy. "With the addition of
the Tamil migrants, the count is over 800, so you can imagine the
conditions that our correctional officers have to deal with."

He estimated there is a ratio of 40 prisoners to one staff member at
Fraser Regional.

"Conditions within our jails are bad enough with overcrowding and
inmate-to-staff ratio," he said. "When you add drugs and other
contraband into an already tense situation, it makes the conditions
that our correctional officers work under very difficult."