Assaults tripled over a decade at Nunavut’s notorious jail

In a report released to the Nunavut legislature March 10, the Auditor General of Canada reported that between 2002 and 2013, annual assaults at the Baffin Correctional Centre in Iqaluit have gone from 57 to 185. (FILE PHOTO)

Incidents of physical assault at Nunavut’s largest and most notorious prison, the Baffin Correctional Centre, more than tripled in the decade ending in 2013, according to a report issued by Canada’s auditor general March 10.

“Physical assaults on inmates or staff or visitors rose from 57 in the 2002-03 fiscal year to 185 in the 2012-13 fiscal year,” auditors noted in a report on Nunavut’s correctional system tabled in the legislative assembly in Iqaluit March 10.

The report draws a link between the spike in incidents of physical assault, the well-documented overcrowding of inmates in the facility, and the mixing of inmates with different security-level ratings.

“Mixing of inmates is a security concern. The practice increases the risk that inmates will be exposed to violence,” the report says.

That’s because mixing inmates of different security levels increases the chance that non-violent inmates will come into contact with violent inmates, the report continues.

The auditor general reviewed case files for 21 inmates to determine if BCC staff were assessing inmates’ security level upon their arrival at the prison, as required by the Department of Justice.

While the majority of the 21 inmates had been assessed, inmates were not housed according to those security ratings, “as required by [justice department] directives,” the report said.

“From our review, we found that only one inmate at the centre [out of the 21 sampled] was placed according to his security rating.”

At the same time, one-quarter of all inmates at the BCC were given a maximum-security rating, the report found.

Overcrowding at the jail also makes it difficult to separate inmates, the report said.

To address the risk of violent behaviour, auditors reported that facility staff move inmates between different sections of the prison on a case-by-case basis.

This shuffling of inmates from place to place within the prison is based on an inmate’s security level, behaviour and relationship with other inmates, the report said, and drains valuable staff energy and time.

“The constant need to juggle inmate placement diverts staff members’ time from other matters, such as case management.”

Nunavut has no facility right now to accommodate maximum-security inmates.

Canada’s assistant auditor general, Ronnie Campbell, said at a March 10 news conference in Iqaluit that the justice department has two choices to house maximum security inmates.

“One is to pay for facilities in Nunavut to house them in Nunavut. Or, pay other jurisdictions, if they’re willing to take them, to house them in other jurisdictions. Either way, it’s going to cost money,” Campbell said.

“Appropriately housing medium- and maximum-security inmates is a legal obligation of the Department of Justice,” the report said.

The justice department agreed with the report’s recommendation to acquire sufficient maximum-security beds.

“Planning is under way to identify the viability and needs of incarceration types,” said the department’s written response, which is included in the report.

An evaluation of those needs is expected to be completed in April, the department said, “which will allow the department to make informed strategic decisions on test and design options for the 2015-16 fiscal year based on the current and long-term correctional service needs of Nunavummiut.”

“The ultimate goal is to acquire maximum-security space,” the department concluded.