Alberta’s largest union says there is an elevated concern about the safety of correctional officers after an incident at a Calgary jail sent five people to hospital.
An inmate serving weekends at the Calgary Correctional Centre, two guards and two nurses were exposed to a mysterious substance believed to be fentanyl laced with arsenic, according to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).
On Monday, AUPE President Guy Smith said the correctional officers are now recovering.
“This was on a weekender unit so there’s a lot more traffic in that part of the jail,” Smith said. “Fentanyl is so potent. So even a small trace amount can cause serious damage and that’s harder to find.
“The inmates find extremely creative ways to smuggling this in.”
Smith said it appears the inmate managed to smuggle the illicit drug into the facility. He was found unconscious in his cell when the guards tried to help, which exposed them to the toxic substance. The union representing the guards said not enough is being done to protect the workers. Smith told Global News he has been meeting with provincial government officials to push for better training.
READ MORE: 1 inmate, 4 staff sent to hospital after incident at Calgary Correctional Centre: EMS
Union representatives said fentanyl is nearly impossible to detect.
“We’ve been pushing for full body scans that only picks up sizable amounts,” Smith said. “There’s sniffer dogs, but again, the trace amount is hard to detect.”
Correctional officers can potentially come into contact with the lethal opioid during searches, sorting mail and when performing CPR.
READ MORE: Fentanyl overdoses in jail endanger corrections staff: union
A spokesperson with Alberta Justice says an internal review is underway.
“There are several measures in place to prevent drugs from entering provincial correctional facilities and to protect staff and inmates,” Jason van Rassel said in a written statement. “In terms of security measures to identify narcotics and stop them from entering facilities, drug dogs are employed, along with searches and intelligence gathering by staff. There are also regular scheduled rounds and counts completed by correctional staff for all inmates.”
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