New programs for Nunavut inmates
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (May 14/01) - Just five years ago it was tough for an inmate to achieve rehabilitation in the Baffin Correctional Centre.
The absence of programs meant that offenders did their time, often re-offended and returned to jail.
A push to implement programs designed for Inuit inmates is helping break the old pattern.
"It's been improving for the last five years," said Pauloosie Nuyalia, assistant director of corrections for the Nunavut government's department of justice.
"It will continue to improve and become more rehabilitative. Prior to this, there was hardly any programs developed."
A guard at the correction centre for nine years before moving into management, Nuyalia has watched inmates come and go. The most significant change he witnessed was the move to house Nunavut offenders in their home territory.
Ron McCormick, the director of corrections and community justice, said as many as 60 inmates were once housed at the Yellowknife Correctional Centre. The cost was $165 a day per inmate, compared to $110 per day at BCC.
As of last month, 24 Nunavut inmates remained in the Northwest Territories, including three females held at Fort Smith.
Baffin Correctional Centre accommodates 71 inmates. Another six inmates are serving time in three outpost camps in the Baffin region.
A fourth outpost camp in Arviat closed temporarily after an inmate died during a blizzard earlier this year.
McCormick also said officials were looking at opening additional camps in the Kitikmeot.
New programs offered
The correctional centre has introduced programs to increase offenders chances of rehabilitation.
A sex offender treatment program, an alternatives to violence program, and an offenders' substance abuse treatment program provide men with the tools they need to avoid re-offending, McCormick said.
Many inmates have participated in suicide prevention/intervention workshops, which gives them a skill to offer to community members, and work release programs to help re-integrate them into society.
McCormick said the programs were developed for Baffin inmates, many of whom were imprisoned for sex offenses or acts of violence against their families.
"We've tried to look at what we have and develop programs that work here," said MCCormick.
"What works for First Nations in Alberta may not work with Inuit offenders."
McCormick said it won't be possible to assess the effectiveness of the new programs until a new computer information system is implemented.
Based on staff observations the current rate of recidivism is about 70-75 per cent.
Catch-22
The new programs have come at some cost. Since the transfer of inmates from Yellowknife, space has been at a premium in BCC.
When a weight machine was deemed unsafe for inmates to use, it was removed and the room given over to counselling and treatment programs.
For the last two years, inmates have been forced to depend on the prison's fenced-in exercise yard and sporadic trips to the high school gym and swimming pool.
"There had to be a trade off," said McCormick. "It was a terrible thing."
Nuyalia agreed that the loss of the weight room was unfortunate, but said the increased space for counselling services was good for territorial prisoners.
"That room is the only place they have to speak about their issues."
Offender facts
