REGINA – Saskatchewan’s ombudsman says overcrowded provincial jails combined with a lack of programming are a "recipe for disaster."
Kevin Fenwick said the situation is serious and could become critical with inmate numbers likely to grow due to "tough on crime" initiatives from the federal government, such as proposed limitations on the use of conditional sentences, or house arrest.
"The correctional centres that we have in Saskatchewan were designed to house probably no more than two-thirds, perhaps a half the number of inmates that we actually have there now," Fenwick said Thursday, after his 2009 annual report was tabled in the legislature.
Overcrowding means classrooms and gymnasiums are being turned into dormitories, he said.
"What that means is there’s nowhere left to provide programming which is what we need so those inmates come out of correctional centres different than they went in."
Inmates being "double bunked" rather than being put in single cells also increases the risk of violent incidents, he added.
According to the corrections ministry, the "peak count" in the province’s four adult secure facilities in 2009-10 was 1,364. Ideally, the facilities would only house 834 inmates at one time.
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