Correctional Service of Canada responds to the Structured Intervention Unit Implementation Advisory Panel’s Annual Report

Today, Anne Kelly, Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), issued the following statement:

“I welcome the Structured Intervention Unit Implementation Advisory Panel’s (SIU IAP) first annual report and thank them for their recommendations.

CSC’s fundamental purpose is to rehabilitate inmates and keep Canadians safe. Everything we do focuses on assisting and preparing inmates for their successful reintegration into our communities. I want to thank our hard-working staff who show up every day to make a difference and change lives. SIUs were a historic transformation for CSC, and I appreciate our team’s continued dedication and contribution, especially given SIUs were implemented just months before the global pandemic. SIUs are a cultural shift for corrections, and we continue to work diligently with our staff to sustain our shared vision.

The IAP report provides a number of recommendations to better support the overall operation of SIUs. Our response outlines the progress we have made in a number of areas, as well as the concrete actions we are taking.

For context, there are times when some inmates cannot safely reside in a mainstream population because of the risk they pose to others or for their own safety. It is for these inmates that SIUs were created in 15 of our 43 institutions. SIUs are about helping inmates and providing them with continued opportunities to engage in interventions and programs to support their reintegration to a suitable mainstream population as soon as possible. On average, there are approximately 150 inmates in an SIU on any given day, which represents 1.2% of federal inmates in Canada.

Over the past few years, the pandemic has had a number of impacts on our operations. At times, this meant reduced staffing levels, and impacts on the delivery of programs and services, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our facilities. This required using innovative and creative approaches while continuing our efforts to identify issues, challenges and opportunities, and act upon them to ensure the SIU model is working as intended.

Based on the findings of two audit engagements that CSC completed, the IAP’s report, and our experience to date, we are taking a number of actions including:

· Enhancing the SIU staffing model: adding new SIU positions such as Behavioural Counsellors, Data Analysts/Activity Coordinators, and Security Intelligence Analysts. This will help increase CSC’s interventions, provide additional options for time out of cell and interactions with others, and work on complex cases to find suitable mainstream environments for SIU inmates.

· Increasing options for inmate engagement: implementing innovative approaches and activities, programs, and interventions to increase options for inmates to spend more time out of their cells and interacting with others. This includes use of external organizations and volunteers, Elders, and programs such as our Health for Life initiative, which to date, has helped 10 of our SIU inmates complete their high school diploma: https://youtu.be/4FMMh_QdTgU.

· Improving our data collection, tracking and reporting: implemented an improved version of our SIU Long-Term Evolution (LTE) application for real-time tracking of time out of cell, interaction with others, and relevant health recommendations. This helps us to better identify and respond to issues or trends.

· Understanding and addressing regional differences across different SIUs: developed and shared best practices nationally and each SIU will prepare an action plan to implement best practices, tailored to their inmate populations.

· Reviewing policies, practices, and procedures: we have reviewed policies and issued three interim policy bulletins since the implementation of SIUs to clarify roles and procedures. A full policy review is currently underway, which will include consultation with employees, partners, and stakeholders. In addition, CSC will review and update its Health Information Sharing Guidelines to support the timely sharing of health information.

· Enhanced employee training and continuous learning: provided initial onboarding workshops to all SIU staff and we are currently developing additional professional development opportunities for SIU staff. CSC is also exploring the implementation of a National Onboarding Program for new Correctional Officer/Primary Worker recruits with structured mentoring, coaching, and training.

Since the implementation of SIUs, we have recognized the importance of ensuring that inmates are taking advantage of time out of cell and interactions with others. As outlined in our response, we work to constantly to engage inmates in interventions, activities, and programs, and encourage them to take advantage of the opportunities offered to them, as they are crucial to supporting their wellbeing and rehabilitation.

We will continue our work to implement the actions and commitments we put forward in our response. CSC will also continue to engage with our external oversight bodies and stakeholders to address any additional comments or recommendations they bring forward. We have important oversight functions built into our system – this helps us make continuous improvements and ultimately, these efforts will directly contribute to greater public safety results for all Canadians.”