NCJ Number
197284
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 64 Issue: 6 Dated: October 2002 Pages: 124-126
Editor(s)
Susan L. Clayton M.S.
Date Published
October 2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article examines the treatment of high-risk offenders, including sex offenders and the protection of facility staff at the Regional Psychiatric Center in Saskatchewan, Canada, a multi-security-level forensic facility under Correctional Service Canada.
Abstract
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 1999, 18 percent of Canada’s inmates had been previously hospitalized in a mental health facility. Today, Correctional Service Canada operates five regional forensic mental health units for Federal inmates providing intensive treatment for high-risk/needs offenders, including sex offenders who are unable to be managed in the general prison population. This article discusses one of these units, the Regional Psychiatric Center in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Center is a multi-security-level facility admitting and discharging most of its patients from and to correctional facilities called parent institutions. Center patients are treated in four different programs delivered in separate units, one of which is the Clearwater Sex Offender Treatment Program. Sex offenders determined to be at high-risk for re-offending are the targeted group for treatment in the Clearwater unit. All these groups take place within an intense setting of about seven other sex offenders and two staff members facilitate discussion. Patient therapy sessions are intense and have the potential to raise patient tensions. Security for staff and inmates is a key concern at any correctional facility. Inmates with behavioral and psychological problems present added risk making the maintenance of a secure environment critical. Staff is required to wear a personal protection alarm that can and will summon help at a moment’s notice. This alarm sends an instantaneous radio frequency signal when the alarm button is pressed. In addition to the alarm, officers must participate in a mandatory 13-week training program prior to employment with CSC. The training and protective alarm give both staff and patients peace of mind.