FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 27, 2002
Inmate death at Millbrook could have been prevented,
locked-out correctional officers believe
MILLBROOK - An inmate death at the Millbrook Correctional Centre might have been prevented if correctional officers had been allowed in the facility to perform essential services duties during the Ontario public service strike, their union says.
The inmate died of an apparent heart attack in the night. Logbooks viewed by union officials show that managers running the facilities are not doing regular patrols throughout the night, said Tim Hannah, president of Local 341 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
“If we had not been locked out since March 20, correctional officers deemed essential would have been doing patrols every 30 minutes throughout the night,” said Hannah. “A trained officer could have provided emergency first aid and CPR. But with the lockout, management is not doing the patrols.”
Many of the managers conscripted to run Ontario’s jails during the lockout have come from other government ministries. At Millbrook, managers have been brought in from the Ministry of Finance, Management Board Secretariat, and the Ministry of Labour.
“We have no evidence whatsoever that any of these managers have even basic first aid training, let alone experience with correctional services,” said Hannah. “Every day they work in there is a high-risk day for the public, the inmates, and themselves.”
Managers are being paid between $1,000 and $1,500 a day to work during the lockout.
Correctional officers deemed essential are locked out at almost all Ontario correctional facilities, said Barry Scanlon, chair of the Corrections bargaining team for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
“We had three escapes last week of dangerous inmates from management-run provincial jails,” said Scanlon. “There is no way that a bunch of exhausted managers can run a correctional facility without something terrible happening.
“When patrols and searches don’t happen, escapes, murders, and riots do,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time before one of these jails blows up and people in the community get hurt.”
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For more information:
Tim Hannah (705) 749-3839; (705) 932-9341
Barry Scanlon (416) 788-9190
