In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

Prohibited practice of double bunking in federal prisons is continued

(CBC) Inmates at federal run prisons in British Columbia and Manitoba are being forced to double bunk in segregation cells even though practice was eradicated in 2001 by the Correctional Service of Canada. Double bunking is prohibited in Canada unless there is a justified emergency, in which double bunking should be used as a last resort. CBC News obtained documents that illustrated prisons Stony Mountain in Manitoba and Mission Institution in B.C. are forcing inmates to share a cell in segregation. This is not only a violation of government policy, but also infringes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as international human rights standards.  Correctional investigator Howard Sapers told CBC, "These cells are not designed to house more than one inmate. So if you're now going to house two inmates in one of these very small segregation cells, you're really bordering on inhumane custody."  Sapers told CBC that double bunking is connected to increased violence rates in prisons.

Furthermore, inmates who are to be housed in the same cell must be evaluated beforehand to eliminate possible risks of double-bunking them. According to documents from the Office of the Correctional Investigator gathered by CBC News, assessments were not always done. 

1.

British Columbia Civil Liberties Association: Defending Rights

BCCLA
The BCCLA is an autonomous, charitable society that aims to work with other groups on common issues. Established in 1962, it is the oldest and most active civil liberties group in Canada that offers insight into civil freedom implications. The front page is a compilation of recent news that affects Canadian liberties, as well as podcasts lining the bottom of the page that link to civil liberties. In 1996 -five years before double bunking was abolished in Canada- BCCLA raised the issue of double bunking matters occurring in B.C. corrections, stating that overcrowding in B.C. prisons will cause negative social outcomes, including the "tendency for higher levels of aggression and violence," and an increase in "inmate assaults on inmate and inmate assaults on staff."

BCCLA also illustrates the psychological effects double bunking has on inmates, and the effects on staff, as well as monetary consequences that expanded as overcrowding increased. The BCCLA reviewed two studies in order to examine the effects that increased prison populations had versus institutions with a lower capacity. BCCLA states its position on double bunking and encourages the government to give "serious consideration" to the problem. The BCCLA site investigates issues in detail by looking at legal rights and social matters in order to provide information to society about current problems.

2.

Canadian Prison Advocacy and Outreach Coalition: Protecting the Incarcerated

CPAOC
This site merges together Non-Governmental Organizations, and incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people across Canada that work with people in prison. The site acts as an advocate for the dignity and the fundamental human rights of incarcerated people and works to ensure those rights are protected in relation to issues that occur in federal prisons and provincial institutions in Canada. The site aims to make visible the challenges that incarcerated people go through. CPAOC  voices many issues with double bunking by quoting different people at various levels in the Canadian justice system and providing outlooks on the structures institutions have that are affecting the prisoners.

3.

Canadian Activism: Prison Justice

Prison Justice
This Canadian site supports prisoners and prison justice activism in Canada by providing information on alternatives to incarceration, timelines, as well as facts and statistics from incarceration rates to crime rates to the number of prisons in Canada - including the available space each institution has. The facts and statistics are given from 2001-2006. The site indicates that from 2005-2006 there has been a four per cent increase in admissions to federal custody, which affects the overcrowding issue at federal institutions. On the homepage there is a link to recent news and articles that outline issues that have arisen in Canadian correctional institutions. This site allows visitors to download audio and video clippings from 2011, showing the site is regularly updated. 

4.

Healing the Justice System

Just Blog
Just Blog is a non-profit blog sponsored by Rittenhouse, an agency dedicated to bringing healing justice instead of "retributive justice in our criminal justice system."  Rittenhouse sets out guidelines to ensure discussion throughout the blog remains respectful. The site gives readers the ability to learn about injustices in the correctional institution facilities, and send in full comments and have conversations about an ongoing issue. With the ability to retrieve archival posts on this site, it becomes a helpful source for viewers to find specific issues. The blog posts links to news reports and provides comments to readers, which allows viewers to have online conversations with the author of the post. In July 2011, Just Blog posted a link to an article regarding the double bunking issue in a Canadian institution, Collin's Bay penitentiary and noted Corrections Canada dramatically increased double bunking in order to deal with the rising inmate population, noting the practice is against UN standards.

5.

Office of the Correctional Investigator: Government Action

OCI
This government site offers a report from the Correctional Investigator that outlines the Annual Report of the Correctional Investigator. This report provides insight on the issues that current correctional services in Canada have, as well as evaluates efforts that have been put in place to help solve issues in corrective institutions. In the report, the concern of double bunking is attended to and further outlined that all other alternatives must be "exhausted" before overcrowding a cell. The 2010-2011 report indicates the national double bunking rate is at 13 per cent and increasing. The report shows, and goes into great detail about, the complex issues regarding federal institutions and offers plans for what needs to be done to limit issues in the future.