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Provincial auditor determines lack of progress made on inmate rehabilitation efforts

Dec 13, 2018 | 11:00 AM

Despite several follow-ups since its initial 2008 report recommending the province offer rehabilitation to inmates and track its effectiveness, there’s been “little progress” according to the provincial auditor.

The latest follow-up into the Ministry of Corrections and Policing was included in the October 2018 provincial audit, released earlier this week.

According to the latest report, the ministry did not effectively monitor both inmate access to programming and its effect on recidivism — both of which were recommended in the original audit.

The programs offered by the ministry are specifically intended to reduce reoffending and help inmates reintegrate into the community following release.

Earlier this year, the ministry hired a staff member for inmate case management. The member developed a spreadsheet of information on each inmate with data on eligibility for the programming. Auditors, however, noticed there was no process in place to monitor which inmates accessed rehabilitation prior to re-entry into the community.

When auditors compared information on the correction staff’s spreadsheet to data in the ministry’s IT system, they found seven inaccuracies out of 30 items tested.

“We found that the ministry’s monitoring and reporting of re-offending rates in relation to rehabilitation programs was limited to predominantly one correctional centre and only for specific programs,” the report said.

Auditors found the ministry did not follow its own policy regarding inmate needs or provided proper programming to match assessed needs.

The ministry’s current policy states an assessment of the inmate’s risks and needs should be conducted within 28 days of his or her admission to the jail.

“For nine of 30 inmate case files we tested, correctional staff did not complete the inmate assessments consistent with policy guidelines. For these inmates, correctional staff did assessments between 15 to 120 days later than the guidelines expect,” the report stated. “The expected length of stay for these nine inmates was between 65 to 573 days.”

In this year’s review, to determine if the ministry was properly implementing the recommendations, auditors interviewed corrections staff members responsible for rehabilitation efforts. They also reviewed ministry policies, inmate files and read evaluations of the programs. 

Due to the result of the report, ministry staff indicated to auditors they intend to further review risk assessment and case management processes and determine their effectiveness. Ministry staff say they will work with correctional members to improve timeliness on inmate assessments and help train others on case management.

 

cjnbnews@jpbg.ca

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