WE PAY FOR JAIL DRUG DEBTS, SAYS CORRECTIONS OFFICER

OTTAWA -- Canadians are paying off inmate drug debts by reimbursing missing
property in prisons, according to a Sun Media source. The veteran
correctional officer for the Ontario region said most claims for lost,
stolen or damaged items are bogus because the item has been traded off for
drugs.

"It's a scam. It's just one big farce," he said. "He submits a claim for
his $300 pair of Nikes that have gone missing, the Crown can't prove where
they are, so he ends up getting the money for them," he added.

"In the meantime, he's paid off his drug debt with his hot-shot running
shoes, colour television or Timex watch."

Sun Media revealed that the Correctional Service of Canada paid $225,833
for 1,504 settlement claims for missing property in prisons in the last two
fiscal years.

CSC policy allows for the payments when it's deemed staff haven't exercised
"reasonable care" to protect a prisoner's personal property.

Documents obtained under Access to Information show taxpayers reimbursed
convicted criminals for socks, rolling papers, stereos, watches and a
variety of other items.

Graham Stewart, executive director of the John Howard Society of Canada,
said inmates deserve to have their personal property protected while in
custody.

"You go to jail to serve your sentence. You don't go to jail to be robbed
or to have things lost," he said

"There is a responsibility to care for prisoners in a variety of ways.
People are still citizens when they're in jail, and they're still entitled
to a level of care."

To promote a "respectful" prison environment, CSC has an obligation to
protect personal property, Stewart said. But he said the high number of
approved claims suggests there isn't a "high level of care."