A British corrections expert has been appointed to oversee reforms at Tasmania’s troubled Risdon Prison.

Brian Edwards has been announced as the state prison service’s director of change management more than 10 months after a report recommended the position. Report by 9 News.

Mr Edwards has been given the job for two years following a report last year from former Australian Federal Police chief Mick Palmer on the problems at Risdon.

The prison has been the scene of two hostage dramas and three break-outs in recent years, including last month’s escape by two inmates from its adjacent minimum security facility.

“I have been a strong advocate for corrections reform and we need to put resources into it, even in a time of budgetary stress,” Minister for Corrections Nick McKim said in a statement on Monday.

“Mr Edwards’ appointment is a major step forward in the process Mick Palmer identified for progressing operational and cultural reform.”

Mr Edwards has worked in the British prison system for 34 years and was awarded an OBE for his contribution in 2006.

Opposition spokeswoman Vanessa Goodwin said the appointment had taken too long.

“While the Liberals welcome the appointment of Brian Edwards as the Tasmanian Prison Service change manager, it is long overdue,” she said.

“The appointment of a change manager was one of the key recommendations to come out of the Palmer Report and should have been done sooner.”

Mr Edwards will begin in the position on February 27.

Tammy Corrections Reform, Tasmania

Similar to other children her age, 10-year-old Sylvia Nyiraseggiyava wanted to become a doctor after her education. She enjoyed education at Kamengo Primary School and lived a normal childhood until her life’s time clock momentarily stalled.

While at school, Sylvia was told that her mother, Laulensia Nyinabazungu, had been accused of murder and picked up by the police. “On reaching home, I discovered that my mother had been arrested and taken to Kamengo Police Station,” she says. Report by AllAfrica.com.

Feeling helpless, Sylvia’s elder sister went off to Rwanda, leaving the little girl under the care of an old man, who was not a relative. Sylvia’s mother insisted that she would rather stay with her daughter in Luzira Prison than let her live with a stranger. Prisons staff brought the girl to her.

Nyinabazungu was sentenced to 50 years in jail after the High Court sitting in Mpigi found her guilty of murder, making her the first woman in Uganda to receive such a sentence.

New home

Today, Sylvia is one of the 43 children accommodated at the Luzira-based Family of Africa, a home that accommodates children detained with their mothers.

In its 21 women detention facilities countrywide, the Uganda Prisons Service currently has 161 children detained alongside their mothers. With 43 children, Luzira Women’s Prison has the biggest number.

Angella Akwia, the in-charge of Family of Africa project, argues that children should not be left to languish because of crimes committed by their mothers, yet often, detention of a single mother leaves her children helpless.

For many of them [detained women], the events leading to imprisonment rip apart their marriages. As a result, they are abandoned by their husbands.

Even after detention, newly-released mothers usually have no source of livelihood. As a result, some of them stealthily walk out of prison on release, leaving their children behind.

Currently, the Family of Africa is looking after three children who were abandoned by their mothers after release.

Born in prison

An ex-prisoner who preferred anonymity says she was sent locked up behind bars for murder while pregnant. Shortly after, she delivered and for almost ten years, she was in prison with her child because there was no one to take care of her. Even relatives abandoned her when she was convicted.

Upon release, she did not know where to go with her child. “Despite the fact that I was happy about being freed from jail, it was a trying moment since I was homeless. Being homeless and unemployed, I could not take care of the child. I made the toughest and most painful decision of my life of leaving my daughter behind.”

That day, she cried as she walked out of prison. “I said bye to my daughter as I left and promised the authorities that I would come for her as soon as I got a job and accommodation,” she narrates.

Fortunately, Mission After Custody, a non-government organisation, accommodated her until she found a job as a housemaid. She hopes one day she will make enough money to rent a room and get her daughter out of Luzira.

During a conference last year, the executive director of Mission After Custody, Morris Kizito explained that jobless, homeless ex-prisoners were partly responsible for the increasing crime rates.

According to research conducted five years ago, the Uganda Prison Service had a re-offending rate of 40%, implying that out of every 100 inmates released, 40 would be back in prison within a year.

The prison’s publicist, Frank Baine says the service is seeking funds to cater for children who are innocent, but find themselves victims of circumstance.

e observes: “Much as the current prison budget caters for children who are detained with their mothers, specific consideration for kids is sometimes not put in place.”

Children require more frequent and specialized medical attention, which the prisons department is not prepared for. Besides, life in prison traumatizes the children, which increases their likelihood of committing crimes when they grow up.

Yet, like Sylvia, 161 children are trapped in that situation. Authorities at the Family of Africa home say despite the challenges the young girl has been facing, she will soon be transferred to a home that accommodates older children to enable her access education since the present one is meant for children below three years.

Tammy Inmate Rights, Jail and Prison Conditions, Uganda

The prison guard robot prototype is set to go on trial in March

Robot wardens are about to join the ranks of South Korea’s prison service.

A jail in the eastern city of Pohang plans to run a month-long trial with three of the automatons in March. Report by the BBC News.

The machines will monitor inmates for abnormal behaviour. Researchers say they will help reduce the workload for other guards.

South Korea aims to be a world leaders in robotics. Business leaders believe the field has the potential to become a major export industry.

The three 5ft-high (1.5m) robots involved in the prison trial have been developed by the Asian Forum for Corrections, a South Korean group of researchers who specialise in criminality and prison policies.

It said the robots move on four wheels and are equipped with cameras and other sensors that allow them to detect risky behaviour such as violence and suicide.

Prof Lee Baik-Chu, of Kyonggi University, who led the design process, said the robots would alert human guards if they discovered a problem.

“As we’re almost done with creating its key operating system, we are now working on refining its details to make it look more friendly to inmates,” the professor told the Yonhap news agency.

The one-month trial will cost 1bn won (£554,000) and is being sponsored by the South Korean government.

It is the latest in a series of investments made by the state to develop its robotics industry.

The country’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in January that it had spent the equivalent of £415m on research in the sector between 2002 and 2010.

It said the aim was to compete with other countries, such as Japan, which are also exploring the industry’s potential.

In October the ministry said the Korean robot market had recorded 75% growth over the past two years and was now worth about £1bn.

Robots everywhere

Success stories reported by the Korean media include Samsung Techwin’s sale of a robotic surveillance system to Algeria and shipments of the humanoid Hubo robot to six universities in the US.

The South Korean defence company DoDAAM is also developing robotic gun turrets for export which can be programmed to open fire automatically.

Within the country English-speaking robotic teaching assistants are already being deployed in some schools to help children to practise their pronunciation.

The Joongang Daily newspaper reported in August that a company called Showbo had begun mass producing a robot that bowed to shop customers and told them about promotions on offer.

Other firms say they hope to start selling robots to help care for the elderly before the end of the decade, and personal assistant robots further down the line.

The government is also building a Robot Land theme park in the north-west city of Incheon to help highlight the country’s success. Planners say they hope 2.8 million people will visit each year.

Tammy Personnel Issues, South Korea, Technology

Refusal to grant parole and the cancellation of parole had increased the WA prison population by over 700 at an estimated cost of about $115, 950 per day.

Taxpayers are footing an extra $116, 000 a day to keep prisoners inside jail and not grant them parole, according to a new report tabled in Parliament.

Figures outlined in the report show that since 2009, the number of offenders released on parole in Western Australia had fallen significantly, dropping from 92 per cent to 21 per cent, and there had been a significant increase in the rate of cancelled parole orders, which almost doubled to about four parolees out of 100 having their orders cancelled. Report by The Sydney Morning Herald.

This means WA now has a lower rate of offenders on parole and a higher rate of offenders in prison compared to the Australian average.

In March 2011, the rate of offenders on parole was 27.6 per 100,000 individuals in WA and 69.5 per 100,000 in Australia. In contrast the rate of imprisonment in the state is 213.6 per 100,000, compared with the Australian average of 125.

Auditor-General Colin Murphy found that most of this could be attributed to the Department of Corrective Services’ stricter approach to parolee non-compliance with parole conditions, resulting in a big increase in the rate of cancelled parole orders.

Mr Murphy said the department had responded to the findings of several internal reviews of its management of parolees and over the last two years had made significant changes in both policy and practice.

“There is no doubt parole is a controversial issue and there is ongoing debate about the best way to ensure the community remains safe,” he said.

“Minimising the risks and maximising the benefits of parole relies on the effective and consistent supervision and monitoring of parolees, making sure that offenders comply with parole conditions, and when they do not, appropriate action is taken.

“Stricter enforcement of parole conditions by DCS has meant that breaches are more often resulting in consequences for the parolee, such as the cancelling of their parole.”

Mr Murphy said the department’s refusal to grant parole and its cancellation of parole had increased the prison population by over 700 at an estimated cost of about $115, 950 per day.

“Parole carries a short term crime risk, but it is also a cost effective way to supervise some offenders, and can help reduce the long term risk of reoffending by providing controlled reintegration into the community,” Mr Murphy said.

“Even though DCS’s policy framework has been improved there is inconsistency in the management of parolees and the monitoring of some parole conditions.

“If parole conditions are not monitored effectively then some parolees may be breaching conditions without DCS knowing and some parolees may return to the behaviours which contributed to their initial imprisonment.

“Unapproved changes in accommodation, the way DCS uses drug tests and the manner in which they ensure program attendance are examples of conditions that can be better and more consistently monitored.

“DCS has made significant changes to its management of parolees, but there is more to be done if it is to minimise the risks and maximise the benefits of parole.”

In recent years the Adult Community Corrections philosophy has moved from a “welfare based” model to one which ensures compliance with all community orders, according to the department.

“[It] provides a robust, contemporary and credible system of supervision of offenders which focuses on risk assessment, risk management and public protection as the priority,” they said.

This resulted in the development of the Enforcement Policy in 2009, which addressed the response by staff and stakeholders to non-compliance by parolees to order requirements.

But the report’s key findings suggested that:

• The introduction of the Enforcement Policy by DCS has not yet led to consistent supervision of offenders. Despite efforts by DCS to communicate policy changes, understanding and application of the policy is variable.
• Changes to the Enforcement Policy have reduced the discretion of community correctional officers to deal with breaches of parole conditions and requires all breaches to be reported to the parole board. It is not yet clear if this change will reduce the frequency that offenders breach parole or if the increased cancellation of parole will have a negative impact on long term reoffending rates.
• Issues identified in DCS internal professional standards reviews – such as a lack of senior staff oversight, not adequately using assessment tools that help determine a parolee’s supervision level and reporting frequency and not always explaining to a parolee their obligations – were still evident despite DCS taking a proactive approach to identify them.
• Because DCS is not monitoring all parole conditions, and for some conditions relies on parolees to self-report non-compliance, some parolees may be breaching their orders without DCS knowing. This is because some conditions such as “not to enter licensed premises” or “not to have contact with females under 16″ are impractical to monitor.  The stricter enforcement of parole conditions reduce the incentive for parolees to self-report issues that could result in cancellation of their parole.
• Better monitoring of some parole conditions is needed. The use of drug tests and the monitoring of program attendance are inconsistent; reducing the effectiveness of both conditions. There was no evidence that DCS had confirmed program attendance for over 55 per cent of parolees. Similar inconsistencies were evident with parolees requiring drug testing. Not checking these conditions often enough may enable a parolee to return to high risk behaviours without DCS addressing the increased risk.

The report has recommended that the effectiveness of parole should be improved by:

• Ensuring staff have a consistent understanding of its parole policies.
• The department conduct regular reviews of staff compliance and suitability of monitoring methods, including parolee’s accommodation, drug testing and attendance at programs.
• Examine the impact and effectiveness of the Enforcement Policy and other parole initiatives.
• Improve the integration of offender information so that correctional officers have better access to up-to-date, comprehensive documents.

The department has welcomed the report and the recommendations, saying that it had already commenced a significant body of work into addressing a number of concerns highlighted by this review as well as other internal directed reviews.

“The review undertaken by the Office of the Auditor-General has highlighted the department’s need to not only ensure that a sound communication strategy is in place for the dissemination of policy and procedural change, but that the information communicated is embedded in operational practice,” it said in the report.

“This issue has previously been identified by the Division and a number of strategies have been implemented which already show very positive improvement in enforcement.

“The key focus for DCS is to contribute to community safety by upholding the integrity of custodial and non-custodial sentences and by positively influencing offender behaviour to reduce reoffending.

“The department acknowledges the need for continuous improvement in compliance with policies and procedures governing the management of parolees in the community and will use the Auditor General’s report to inform future developments.”

Tammy Probation and Parole, Western Australia

OTTAWA — Complaints of double-bunking in Canadian prisons nearly tripled from 2009 to 2010, according to the departmental performance report released by the Office of the Correctional Investigator.

Double-bunking is against government policy and is supposed to be used only in emergency situations because it places two inmates in a cell designed for one. In 2010-11, complaints rose to 44 from 15 complaints the previous year. Report by The Vancouver Sun.

In the OCI’s annual report, released in June, double-bunking was described as “particularly unsafe, contrary to human dignity, inconsistent with (Correctional Services Canada’s) accommodation policy and, quite likely, a violation of international human rights detention standards.”

The report goes on to say double-bunking is not appropriate — especially at a time when the population of federal prisons is on the rise. The situation is made worse, the report said, due to the high rates of mental illness, drug addiction, violence and gang membership among prison populations.

Lead investigator at the OCI, Howard Sapers, told CBC News the cells are for housing an inmate 23, and in some cases 24, hours a day in a confined space. He said double-bunking borders on inhumane custody.

The annual report recommends the federal prison system explicitly outlaw double-bunking in all segregation and segregation-like cells. The report says that now is the perfect time to make this policy change because the rules are in the process of being reviewed and updated.

The OCI acts as an ombudsman between inmates and the corrections service. The office takes complaints and, when necessary, performs investigations and makes recommendations to the prison service.

Overall, complaints to the office have increased by four per cent. Last year, there were 5,748 complaints, up slightly from the previous year.

Complaints about dental care, legal counsel, discipline and decisions issued by the OCI all saw an increase. While complaints about inmate diet, transfers and security all declined. Inmates’ complaints about family visits stopped altogether — there were 63 in 2009-10 but none last year.

The performance report released last week says the department is performing well, especially considering its limited staff of 30. The report also says the office budget will be increased by nearly $1 million from its current $3 million budget.

The OCI report comes at a time where the government is increasing the number of prisons as legislation is debated to introduce mandatory minimums and other changes to the Criminal Code. Critics have said the legislation will unnecessarily put Canadians behind bars, leading to problems seen in the United States.

Tammy Canada, Inmate Rights, Prison Population

Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson has enlisted the help of Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey in her fight to save the Walkerton jail.

Bailey, who is the opposition Progressive Conservative critic for safety and corrections, and Thompson made a brief visit to see conditions at the Walkerton institution, which is set to close Dec. 4. Report by The Sun Times.

The provincial Liberal government announced in its March budget it was closing what it called “underutilized jails” in Walkerton, Owen Sound and Sarnia in a bid to reduce the deficit.

But that’s not what the Conservative MPPs said they saw during their 90-minute visit on Wednesday.

“The Walkerton jail is in good shape and we saw that it’s filled to capacity again. Last weekend it was at capacity as well with people serving intermittent sentences . . . the information that I am going to present next week will show that there isn’t a viable business plan for correctional services in rural Ontario,” Thompson said during an interview after Wednesday’s visit.

“It was just a knee-jerk reaction to address the deficit ahead of the election and it caused (the Liberals) to jump to conclusions without any justification. They needed to follow through with stakeholder consultations, which they totally ignored,” she said.

In a bid to prevent such things from happening again Thompson is preparing a private member’s bill that would require adequate community consultation before a provincial institution is closed, and that the closure can be justified.

“Using the Walkerton jail as an example, it is serving a purpose. It is an economic driver in rural Ontario. There are many reasons to keep it open,” she said.

Bailey described the jail as well-kept, well-managed and with a very friendly atmosphere, with correctional officers working well with inmates.

“I come from a small town in rural Ontario and I could see if I was an inmate I would rather spend time in a facility like Walkerton than go to a larger centre,” he said.

Earlier in the day Bailey visited the Elgin Middlesex detention centre in London. He plans to visit the Sarnia jail later.

The government has promised to keep the Sarnia jail open until a new regional detention centre is completed in Windsor in 2013.

“It’s all about getting more information to help us do our job as we continue to keep this facility and the one in Sarnia open,” said Bailey.

Bailey said his efforts to get the background information used to justify the government’s decision to close jails in Walkerton, Owen Sound and Sarnia through freedom of information legislation have gone nowhere.

“The (Ontario) Ombudsman is looking into the lack of consultation, not only of just our facility in Sarnia, but the other municipalities as well with the stakeholders, the community and powers that be. The freedom of information people are looking at this. The privacy commissioner also. Everybody is involved,” Bailey said.

“At the end of the day it will be proven that there were no numbers. It was just something that someone added into the budget to try and justify some numbers,” he added.

Thompson said she plans to seek a meeting with Madeleine Meilleur, the minister of community safety and corrections, once the new session of the legislature begins next week.

She promises that she and other Conservative MPPs will keep the issue of closing the Walkerton jail alive on the floor of the legislature.

“We’re going to keep driving home the fact that this decision to close the Walkerton jail is not well thought out and there’s time to revisit it,” Thompson said.

Tammy Canada, Prison, Jail, Facility Closures

ABU DHABI — The ‘Injaz” Programme, being conducted by the Punitive and Correctional Institutions of the Abu Dhabi Police in collaboration with Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), has successfully trained 251 of the 270 inmates, who attended the programme.

“The two-year training programme qualifies prisoners to enter the local labour market by learning practical, professional and individual skills and avail the job opportunities as per the professions they specialised in,” said Colonel Mohammed Yousouf Al Zaabi, Director of the Punitive and Correctional Institutions at the Abu Dhabi Police. Report by Khaleej Times.

He said: “The professional productive workshops include carpentry, painting, cement blocks production, tailoring, automobile mechanics and heritage products training programme, which is conducted in conjunction with Culture and Heritage Authority.”

He said the Abu Dhabi Police took efforts in cooperation with HCT to qualify inmates by using latest educational methods in a way that ensures their social and human rights and helps to go back to practice their day-to-day life after their jail term.

“The programme has been approved after conducting several studies which revealed that there were no scientific, psychological and social programmes that qualify the inmates after ending their jail term to enter the labor market,” Captain Sultan Mohammed Al Niadi, Head of Qualification Section at the department explained.

He said: “This has prompted the Abu Dhabi Police to plan training and qualifying programmes for Emirati inmates, which enable them to obtain academic and vocational certificates that help them get good job opportunities after being released, and return to normal life to be able to serve his family and the society.

Injaz Programme qualifies inmates to enter the labour market after the end of their jail term, as well as helping them to integrate in the society, Captain Niadi said.  He outlined the conditions for admission to the programme, saying that the inmate should be medically fit and should pass the aptitude test. Selected inmates will undergo personal interviews, which will be conducted by a committee from HCT.  After completing the programme, the inmate can complete his studies as per the conditions set by the HCT.  He will also be issued a conduct certificate to get a job in government or private sector. He said one of the graduates is now working in a media institution and another graduate is now a manager in a petrol pump.

Tammy Abu Dhabi, Work Programs

OTTAWA—The head of federal penitentiaries says there is no “crisis” of overcrowding in Canada’s prison system, and Conservatives’ proposed massive anti-crime bill won’t dramatically increase costs.

But the estimates and optimistic view presented by Correctional Service of Canada commissioner Don Head appeared at odds with ministerial estimates of the costs already presented to the Commons justice committee and at odds with many other witnesses’ warnings. Report by The Star.

Head was among nine supporters and critics invited to a two-hour hearing during which the Conservative chair gave witnesses just five minutes to race through their presentations, few of which were completed.

Several warned Canada is headed down the wrong path with longer jail sentences for drug users, sexual offenders, and young offenders, citing the U.S. experience with overcrowded prisons.

Victims’ advocates supported measures to jail offenders longer, and to increase the role of victims in the parole system.

Head suggested the federal penitentiary system would be able to handle well the influx of prisoners, and said the omnibus bill will add an extra $34 million in costs to the federal prison system spread over five years.

Tougher sentencing provisions for sexual crimes against children will add only an extra 164 inmates a year, he said. He did not offer an estimate of how many drug offenders could end up in jail.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has already said the omnibus package — which rolls together nine separate tough-on-crime bills — would cost $78.6 million over five years.

That figure was tied to tougher penalties for drug crimes estimated to cost $67.7 million over five years because of higher prison populations. Nicholson and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews had also estimated new measures related to sexual offences were expected to cost $10.9 million over two years with additional funding to be approved after that.

Head said his estimates, related to post-custody monitoring of sex offenders in provinces which don’t have parole board resources and mandatory minimum sentences for drug offences, were included in Nicholson’s $78.6-million pricetag.

Those two proposals are expected to cost about $34 million over five years, including $25 million in capital costs to build more prison space, and annual operating costs of about $6.4 million for each measure, he said. Some costs will be absorbed by CSC’s current budget, he added.

Head could not explain what Nicholson’s larger estimate referred to and said he’d “defer” to the minister’s office for an explanation.

Lawyer Eric Gottardi, of the Canadian Bar Association’s national criminal justice section that represents Crown prosecutors and defence lawyers, objected that “a mere five minutes” was “entirely insufficient” to address the profound shifts proposed.

“It is in, our respectful view, undemocratic.”

The tougher sentencing proposals are “self-defeating and counterproductive if the goal is to enhance public safety,” said the national lawyers’ organization.

Gottardi said the changes proposed will shift Canada’s criminal justice and penal policy from individualized sentencing, rehabilitation and reintegration to one that “puts punishment and vengeance first.”

Gottardi and UBC professor Michael Jackson criticized measures, such as a new bail regime for young offenders that will mean more “at risk” youth will be detained before the trials, and changes that make it more difficult to obtain pardons, which they said removes an incentive for ex-offenders to rehabilitate.

University of Toronto criminologist Anthony Doob, a fierce critic of the Conservatives’ tough-on-crime agenda, , denounced the push to rush the omnibus bill through parliament without the scrutiny it needs.

Doob condemned changes to allow publication of names of youths convicted and given an adult sentence before any appeal can be filed.

“This is a cruel and dishonest joke,” said Doob. “The safeguard to a youth of an appeal is already eliminated.”

Doob was challenged by Conservatives who called him Dobbs and demanded to know whether, despite degrees from Harvard and Stanford universities, he’d ever practiced law, worked in a youth justice clinic or been a victim of crime.

Catherine Latimer of the John Howard Society of Canada warned that provincial jails will bear the brunt of the changes. Provinces like Saskatchewan, B.C. and Ontario are already well over their capacity, she said, citing Saskatchewan at nearly 200 per cent of capacity.

In the United States, courts have declared jails that hit 137 per cent overcapacity are breaching guarantees against cruel and unusual punishment.

But prompted by Conservative questioners, the corrections boss, Head, said he’s seen prison conditions around the world. Canada’s penitentiary system has “issues related to double-bunking” and “some challenges in terms of growth,” but he said “I wouldn’t buy into” statements describing crowded prison conditions as “cruel and unusual punishment.”

“Canada is still a leader in terms of how we treat offenders. I wouldn’t be declaring a crisis.”

Sue O’Sullivan, federal ombudsman for victims of crime, praised changes to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, such as the right to provide victims statement at parole hearings, but called for the right to attend a parole hearing to be enshrined in law, not just policy. She hailed changes that forbid offenders from cancelling parole hearings on short notice.

Sharon Rosenfeldt, of Victims of Violence, cited the same report the Conservatives repeatedly refer to about the “intangible” costs of crime and said when she hears Opposition to crime measures based on costs, “it upsets me greatly.”

“How do you put a price tag on our pain as victims or on our children’s lives?”

Liberal justice critic Irwin Cotler scolded the Conservatives, raising a point of order after the meeting, saying all MPs had “an obligation to treat witnesses with respect” and shouldn’t treat anybody “as an advocate for crime or criminals.”

In a separate parliamentary committee examining drug and alcohol abuse in prisons, Sandy Simpson and Wayne Skinner of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health urged the Conservative government to invest more money in prison treatment programs and more health services outside prison to help offenders and their families deal with the root causes of addictions.

Candice Hoeppner, parliamentary secretary for public safety, asked what legislators should do to stop family members whom she described as “enablers” for addicted inmates from smuggling drugs into prison.

Simpson and Skinner urged the Conservatives not to pursue policies that would further isolate inmates from family members who are key to helping an offender reintegrate into society.

Tammy Canada, Prison Population

Officers in federal prisons want legislation allowing access to the health records of inmates who attack them with bodily fluids. This is needed to help them protect themselves against contracting infectious diseases, their union says.

“It’s an unfortunate reality of the job that correctional officers are always attacked by inmates in prisons,” says Lyle Stewart, a spokesperson with the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers. Report by The Epoch Times.

Aside from the fact that it is not a pleasant experience for correctional officers to be attacked with urine, saliva, excrement, semen, and even bloody syringes, what is more worrying is the high rate of infectious diseases among inmates, explains Stewart.

“Inmates nowadays have higher rates of HIV infection and hepatitis C infection, and many other disease infections.”

But under Canada’s privacy laws, inmates’ health records cannot be surrendered to the attacked officer.

“The correctional officer has no right to know whether this inmate is infected with a deadly disease,” says Stewart.

As a result, even though it might not be necessary, some officers choose to follow a “post-exposure protocol”—a pharmaceutical regimen of several different drugs designed to ward off infectious diseases. However, the side effects of these drugs can be highly detrimental.

“The officer is often off work for many months, because it’s impossible to work when you follow a drug regimen like this,” says Stewart. “And while there is still a fear that someone may have contracted a deadly disease such as this, there are limits with their spouse and their children, and their other normal life and interactions are severely limited.”

Forcing attackers to release their health records could also act as a deterrent for inmates, Stewart says.

“[Inmates] know that the Correctional Service now interprets privacy laws in the way that they do. … So even if they don’t have a disease, sometimes it’s happened that they would lie—they would splash someone in the face with a cup of bodily fluids and say, ‘Ha ha, now you’re going to die, you’ve got my disease,’ even if it’s not true.”

Suzanne Leclerc, a spokesperson with Correctional Service Canada (CSC), says the department does not release inmates’ medical files “in accordance with the Privacy Act and provincial legislation related to the sharing of personal health information.”

Leclerc says the department has agreements with hospitals, clinics, and other health centres in close proximity to each institution across the country so that appropriate treatment is readily available.

“CSC’s current policy requires that individuals who are exposed to blood or bodily fluids of another individual be referred for prompt assessment and medical management,” she says.

Some provinces already have a Blood Samples Act so that first responders such as emergency workers, police, and prison officers can find out if they’re at risk of contracting a disease if they’ve been exposed to someone’s bodily fluids.

Stewart says that before the 2006 federal election, the Conservatives informed the union that legislation would be implemented to address the issue. However, no action has been taken.

The Epoch Times contacted the Prime Minister’s Office for comment but no response was received.

Tammy Canada, Inmate Health, Inmate Rights, Public Release

MOSCOW—Russian lawmakers on Tuesday gave first-round approval to a bill that strengthens punishments for pedophilia, including imposing mandatory chemical castration or life sentences in cases that involve repeated offenses.

The lower house, or State Duma, unanimously passed President Dmitry Medvedev’s bill in the first of three required readings. The bill also needs approval by the upper house and Medvedev’s signature. Report by BostonGlobe.com.

It imposes chemical castration for sexual crimes against minors younger than 14 by those with a previous pedophilia conviction. The procedure of chemical castration involves the administration of testosterone-suppressing hormones intended to curb sexual drive.

In Europe, Britain, Denmark and Sweden offer chemical castration drugs to sex offenders to control sexual urges on a voluntary basis. In the United States, several states including Louisiana, California, Oregon and Arizona have laws allowing chemical castration.

The law also envisages a life sentence for repeated offenders. Existing law allows for a sentence of 20 years for second-time offenders.

It bill also said that convicted pedophiles can be released on parole only after serving four-fifths of their sentence — or apply for an earlier release only after volunteering for a chemical castration. Under existing law, convicts can apply for a release on parole after serving two-thirds of their sentence.

A lawmaker with the ruling United Russia party said the law follows an increase in the number of crimes against minors.

“In the past 10 years the number of pedophiles in our country rose three- or fourfold,” Tatyana Yakovleva told the Interfax news agency.

In 2010, almost 7,600 people have been convicted for sexual crimes against persons below 16, according to Internal Affairs Ministry statistics

Tammy Russia, Sex Offenders