Corrections officers in B.C. rally for safety amid surge in assaults by inmates
Dozens of corrections officers marched in Abbotsford Thursday to call attention to worsening working conditions and their employer's alleged failure to adequately address the issue.
Speaking to reporters at the rally outside the Correctional Service of Canada's regional headquarters on Gladys Avenue in Abbotsford, John Randle – regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers for the CSC's Pacific region – explained the group's concerns.
"We're here today because across the country we've seen violent assaults on correctional officers rise to numbers that in my career – I've been a correctional officer for 15 years – we've never seen before," Randle said.
He said more than 700 officers were assaulted last year.
"That's double what we've seen in previous years," he said, noting that – as regional president – he's notified whenever incidents occur in the Pacific region.
"It's happening too much. It's almost daily we're getting the calls that someone's been assaulted, whether that be physically, spit on, feces thrown in their faces. We deal with all that, and we're losing correctional officers because of it. People are tired because our employer is not supporting us."
Asked to elaborate on the lack of support he sees, Randle shared some specific examples, but he also highlighted what he sees as the CSC's general attitude right now.
He characterized the employer as "afraid" of lawsuits and bad publicity.
"They put the needs of the inmates first, over their staff," he said. "That's a problem for us. It's our job as corrections officers for the care, custody and control of inmates, to keep them safe and rehabilitate them. It's our employer's job to keep us safe."
Specifically, he said the CSC has stopped using "disciplinary segregation," which he said is different from "administrative segregation" – the type of solitary confinement that was subject to class action lawsuits and abolished in 2019.
Randle also noted that drone deliveries of drugs and weapons have contributed to the increase in violence, saying it's creating "a dangerous black market" inside federal prisons.
"The first thing that they need to do is get us the tools we need," he said. "There is technology out there to stop drones. We need it. We need it now. It can't happen, you know, next month, next year. We need it today."
For its part, the CSC issued a statement Thursday in which it described the safety and well-being of staff as "of paramount importance."
"We are, and will continue, to work with our staff and union partners to ensure safe work environments," the statement reads, in part.
"These are issues that have our ongoing attention, vigilance and action, as we all work towards the same goal."
The agency also touted its "multi-prong approach" to mitigating the risks of contraband, which includes searches, technology, "intelligence investigations" and "tools such as ion scanners and detector dogs."
"Several measures are in place to protect the safety and security of staff. This includes the appropriate security placement of offenders, an engagement and intervention model, drug detection and identification tools and ongoing staff training," the statement reads. "Front-line correctional officers are qualified to use, and are provided with, the necessary security equipment to ensure their safety and security in institutions, including protective vests, self-defence tools, and restraint equipment."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
DEVELOPING Alberta's request for federal assistance approved after fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Loblaw, George Weston to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500-million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'
A slight temperature drop makes Tuesday the world's second-hottest day
Global temperatures dropped a minuscule amount after two days of record highs, making Tuesday only the world's second-hottest day ever.
U.K. police officer suspended after video appears to show a man being kicked in head
A British police officer was suspended from all duties Thursday after a video was posted on social media that appeared to show an officer kicking and stamping on the head of a man lying on the floor of a terminal at Manchester Airport.
Norad intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers operating together near Alaska in apparent first
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.