INVESTIGATION INTO INMATE DEATH AT POCO JAIL

Corrections officers at North Fraser Pretrial Centre are investigating
after an inmate died in custody Friday night.

Dean Purdy, a spokesperson for the corrections officer component of
the BCGEU, said a staff member noticed an inmate who appeared to be in
distress. An ambulance was called and the inmate was taken to hospital
where he was pronounced dead.

While BC Corrections officials could not confirm the cause of death,
Purdy said that illicit drugs are easily available to inmates in many
of the province's correctional facilities.

"We do know that contraband and drugs in our corrections centres is an
ongoing problem," he said. "All anecdotal evidence that we have
received from our members is that drugs are present at the centre."