NCJ Number
73057
Date Published
1980
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This is the sixth annual report on the activities of the office of the Correctional Investigator in Canada which handles complaints of inmates in penitentiaries. The report covers the period from June 1978 to May 1979.
Abstract
The staff, presently seven persons, may need to be expanded and regionalized in view of increasing numbers of complaints. Most of the initial contacts with inmates are through letters, and the entire staff is involved in the processing procedure. During the report year 1,102 complaints were handled, and almost as many interviews with inmates and correctional staff were held. A total of 231 visits to 40 penitentiaries were made. The complaints are divided into 25 categories. The largest number (215) concerned transfer, usually to greater security -- a move often based on suspicion, and therefore, difficult to substantiate. Some kind of measure for the quality of suspicion should be established. The second largest complaint category (117) concerned medical and health care problems, such as the type and quality of drug prescriptions, difficulties in obtaining prescribed diets, and lack of needed psychiatric services. In order to speed up handling of the complaints, recommendations which were previously made in the annual report at the end of the year will now be made separately as the issues prompting them are raised. An organization chart, samples of specific complaints, and tabular data are included. The order in council, and the Commissioners Directive No. 240 are appended.