READ MORE: NSGEU claims pregnant nurse was attacked by patient, Halifax police investigating
The calls stem from an incident in which an inmate attacked three deputy sheriffs in a courtroom earlier this week, injuring two of them.
NSGEU president Jason MacLean said that although thankfully the two injured deputy sheriffs have been treated and released from hospital, it was a traumatic event that none of them should have been subjected to.
“This is something that could’ve been avoided,” he said.
The Department of Justice provided Global News with a statement which indicated 40 of 51 recommendations from a 2015 report have been implemented, including arming sheriffs.
MacLean is skeptical that those recommendations were indeed followed through on, and says the NSGEU plans to follow up with their own review.
Although sheriffs have been equipped with devices such as tasers on the job, MacLean is quick to argue that they aren’t used as prolifically as they should be.
“There’s no tasers in the courtrooms,” he explained. “The judges don’t want them there so the judges wants and needs trump safety, as far as I’m concerned.”
“We’re the frontline workers. We know what’s safe and what isn’t.”
In addition to revising such safety measures, MacLean says stronger deterrents for offenders are urgently needed to limit situations like this from happening going forward.
“People are getting upwards of three months maybe consecutive but most likely concurrent and that’s not a deterrent,” he explained. ” There needs to be hard and fast deterrents.”
The Department of Justice also indicated in their statement that they regularly review their security plans to determine if they need to adjust them, in consultation with staff.