In a new report focusing on 30 suicides in federal penitentiaries Canada’s Correctional Investigator Howard Sapers is calling for action to prevent prison suicides which are the leading cause of un-natural death in federal prisons.
In the report, he points out that 14 of the 30 suicides reviewed by his Office occurred in segregation cells under conditions of close monitoring and supervision.
“I am concerned that the Correctional Service of Canada continues to rely on long-term segregation placements as a means to manage symptoms or behaviors associated with mental illness, suicidal ideation or self-harming. This practice is unsafe and should be expressly prohibited.”
Among the recommendations of the report: the removal of all known suspension points in segregation cells across the country, the end of long-term segregation of seriously mentally ill, self-injurious or suicidal inmates, and a national effort to identify inmates at elevated risk of suicide who are held in long-term segregation or have a history of repeated placements.
The Correctional Investigator is mandated by Part III of Canada’s Corrections and Conditional Release Act as an Ombudsman for federal offenders. The primary function of the Office is to investigate and bring resolution to individual offender complaints.
More information:
Press release – Correctional Investigator Releases Report on Federal Inmate Suicides – here
Report – A Three Year Review of Federal Inmate Suicides (2011–2014) – here
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