JP slams lack of correctional space for women

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Accused women who should be held in custody while awaiting trial are sometimes released — because there’s no correctional space for women in Nunavut, says Bill Riddell, an Iqaluit justice of the peace.

Riddell recently released a 24-year-old woman charged with assault and theft, even though the Crown presented evidence that justified detaining her until trial.

“The [same] thing that has come up with her, as with almost every other female that comes before me for a bail hearing, is that I’m stuck because Nunavut does not have a proper remand facility for women,” Riddell said.

Men awaiting trial are usually held at the Baffin Correctional Centre in Iqaluit. Young offenders, male or female, are housed next door at the youth corrections facility.

But there are few options for adult female prisoners.

“I remand [a woman] in custody and she spends her time in the RCMP cells. This is not a criticism of the cells, but they are not built or designed to be a remand centre. They are cold, they’re busy, and sometimes they are extremely noisy and sometimes quite violent,” Riddell said.

“The other alternative is to put the female on the plane and send her to the Fort Smith women’s correctional center 2,000 miles from here. It’s a nice place but it’s 2,000 miles away. It just seems, at times, ludicrous.”

Riddell said it’s hard to calculate how many accused women who should be detained are released.

“It’s not rare,” said Riddell. He explained there’s a general increase in the number of female accused coming before him. “It happens from time to time.”

Approximately 300 women were charged — but not necessarily convicted — in Nunavut in 2001. There is no record of how many of these women were held or released following a bail hearing.

The need for a women’s correctional facility and treatment programs is longstanding.

The 1999 report “Planning for Nunavut Corrections” recommended the department of justice build a six- to eight-bed facility for female offenders, among other recommendations.

Three years later, instead of building a facility, the justice department has launched yet another needs assessment study to determine how to best house inmates, including young offenders, women, parolees and BCC prisoners.

“I would prefer to have women here, but we have to use what’s available at this time,” said Ron McCormick, director of corrections and community justice for the justice department.

The most recent study goes to Justice Minister Paul Okalik for review this month.

Before releasing the 24-year-old woman, Riddell told the court: “We do not have a proper facility for women here in Nunavut and I want that on the record. I think it’s awful, just awful…. [You] are a member of the community, as troubled as you may be, you still belong here.”

Despite the woman’s release on April 10, she was convicted the following day and flown to Fort Smith, where she is serving 60 days for another criminal matter.