Officers protest as probation and parole caseloads reach critical levels

TORONTO – Over 300 Ontario probation and parole officers have written to the Ontario legislature to protest staggering caseloads that they say put lives as risk.

"Ontario probation and parole officers deal with caseloads that are 67 per higher than the national average," said David Kerr, who speaks for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union on probation and parole issues. "In Ontario, our average is 117, compared to 70 across Canada. We are supposed to be supervising 60,000 adult criminals in the community, but with these caseloads we are far beyond safe levels.

"It’s just a matter of time – and a short time at that – before somebody dies because of staff shortages," said Kerr. "That death will be on this government’s hands."

The Harris government’s "tough on crime" rhetoric hides a cost-cutting agenda that has hit Correctional services hard, said Kerr. The government would have to hire 345 probation and parole officers to bring caseloads down to the national average.

"The Tories’ only strategy on crime is a public relations strategy," said Leah Casselman, president of OPSEU and a maximum-security youth correctional officer. "They create public hysteria about crime and then talk tough at election time to squeeze votes out of the citizens they’ve terrified.

"If they really cared about community safety, they’d be hiring probation and parole officers, not burning out the ones they have."

David Kerr will visit the legislature this afternoon to deliver the letters of protest to the government.

"Probation and parole officers are used to dealing with stress, and they’re very slow to complain," said Kerr, "but something has to be done. This has been an emergency for far too long."

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