Yellowknife, 3 March 2015—The Department of Justice has not met its key responsibilities for the rehabilitation, safety, and security of inmates within the correctional system, says Michael Ferguson, Auditor General of Canada, in his report presented today to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. The audit looked at whether the Department adequately managed inmates in compliance with key rehabilitation and reintegration requirements, and adequately planned for and operated facilities to house inmates.
“The Department has a responsibility for ensuring access for inmates to programs and services that assist in their rehabilitation and for ensuring the safe and secure operation of correctional facilities,” said Mr. Ferguson. “We found that it has not met key responsibilities in these areas.”
The audit found that, for inmates at the North Slave Correctional Centre and the Fort Smith Correctional Complex (Male Unit), serious deficiencies in case management limit the Department’s efforts to rehabilitate inmates and prepare them for release back to the community. This means that inmates who were identified as needing programs in areas such as substance abuse, sexual offences, and family violence were not receiving this assistance before returning to their communities.
The audit also found that the Department has not met key requirements for its management of correctional facilities. Although the Department developed plans to meet current and future needs in facilities, which include replacing the Fort Smith Correctional Complex (Female Unit) in the 2017–18 fiscal year, it did not have sufficient measures in place to mitigate some safety and security concerns at this facility, where female inmates will continue to be housed in the meantime. Moreover, at the North Slave and Fort Smith (Male Unit) facilities, facility management often did not follow safety and security requirements in areas such as managing inmates in segregation, controlling contraband, and conducting fire and health inspections, which are intended to ensure the safety and security of inmates and staff.
“These concerns are significant, and addressing them will enable the Department to better prepare inmates for release into the community and to better ensure the safety and security of correctional facilities for inmates and staff,” said Mr. Ferguson.
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The report “Corrections in the Northwest Territories—Department of Justice” is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada website.
Glenn Wheeler
Audit Principal, Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Tel.: 613-797-2408
Email: Glenn.Wheeler@oag-bvg.gc.ca
or
Media Relations, Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Tel.: 1-888-761-5953
Email: infomedia@oag-bvg.gc.ca
Twitter: OAG_BVG
