A manhunt continues for an inmate who escaped from custody while attending a funeral last week.
Secured in full restraints, a body belt connected to handcuffs and leg shackles, Fredrick Frank Frenchman made his bold escape while attending the service and is believed to have had some assistance that day.
READ MORE: Saskatoon Correctional Centre inmate escapes while on escorted leave
“Frenchman has not yet been apprehended by police. That investigation remains with RCMP and we’re hopeful that they will find him soon,” Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice spokesperson Drew Wilby said.
On Oct. 24, Frenchman and his twin brother were escorted from the Saskatoon Correctional Centre to the funeral on the Little Red River First Nation by four correctional officers.
Frenchman was somehow able to “to get away quite quickly” from the guards who were assigned to him.
“When that occurs we obviously immediately call the police for there to be an investigation and hopefully find him and bring him back into custody,” Wilby added.
“We also conduct an internal investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding that escape.”
There are just shy of 2,000 inmates currently in provincial institutions guarded by officers trained for absolutely everything.
“That training encompasses most of the regular duties that they would do within their job,” Wilby remarked.
“There’s also on-site training as part of their job so that if a policy has changed or a procedure has changed that will obviously be communicated and if training is required we’ll look to have that implemented as well.”
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Frenchman had recently been sentenced to over 1,000 days in custody at a federal institution for aggravated assault, forcible confinement and breaching probation – a transfer that had yet to take place, according to Wilby.
READ MORE: Charges laid after Saskatoon Correctional Centre inmate assaulted
At those facilities, Frenchman would have been guarded by correctional offices trained to handle firearms, chemical agents and self-defence.
“Correctional officers are taught to engage in dynamic security, which is to always be visible to the inmates and to engage in a professional conversation and dialogue, one that encourages and assists the inmate in respecting the institutional rules, completing their correctional plan and becoming law abiding citizens,” Correctional Service Canada (CSC) said in a statement issued to Global News.
CSC went on to say that candidates wanting to become a correctional officer must first meet educational criteria, experience and psychological assessments before being invited to the training academy.
As for what happened in this particular case and how Frenchman slipped through their fingers is still being looked into.
“In this circumstance, obviously we’re investigating the details of that. We don’t want to pre-judge that investigation in any way and so we will allow that to carry out.”
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