Yukon Territory
Yukon
The Arrest Processing Unit is a joint initiative between the Yukon Department of Justice and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The Arrest Processing Unit is a facility within the newly constructed Whitehorse Correction Centre used to hold police prisoners. It will innovate the way that the Yukon manages persons detained by the RCMP in Whitehorse. The Arrest Processing Unit will ensure the highest standard of care and protection for persons taken into RCMP custody, including the acutely intoxicated. Persons detained by the RCMP can experience medical complications which require medical assessment and supervision to ensure safe care and control while in custody. The Arrest Processing Unit will provide onsite medical assessment and care for RCMP prisoners and supervision by corrections officers with specialized training. While medical assessment will be a core element of the Arrest Processing Unit, the unit was never intended as a “sobering centre” for the acutely intoxicated and is not a health care facility.
The initiative has several objectives:
Yukon Department of Justice and RCMP ‘M’ Division
David Yuledavid.w.yule@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
The Yukon Government, RCMP ‘M’ Division and RCMP Pacific Region have all been directly involved in design and policy development and have made financial contributions.
The physical facility is still under construction, but the unit has been operating under alternative arrangements since January 4, 2012.
The Review of the Yukon’s police force was launched April 30, 2010 in response to concerns raised by some Yukon citizens regarding the delivery of police services by the RCMP. The final report of the review, titled “Sharing Common Ground,” was completed in December 2010 and issued the following recommendation: “That the Department of Justice construct a Secure Assessment Centre (now Arrest Processing Unit) with appropriate 24-hour medical support in Whitehorse to accommodate individuals who are detained or arrested by the RCMP and require secure custody, including acutely intoxicated persons.”The recommendation to build the Arrest Processing Unit flowed from public concerns following the December 2008 death of Raymond Silverfox in Whitehorse Detachment cells. The 43-year-old First Nations man from Carmacks, Yukon, was subjected to ridicule and mockery from RCMP members during the final hours of his life in the Whitehorse detachment's “drunk tank”, where he was kept from 5:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. on December 2, 2008. A Coroner's inquest into Silverfox's death heard that he had vomited 26 times in his cell during the 13 hours he was in custody, but officers and guards assumed he was simply drunk.According to the 2006 Annual Report of RCMP In-Custody Deaths, two thirds of in-custody deaths occurred within 30 minutes of contact with police and 40% of in-custody deaths were as a result of drug or alcohol toxicity. In recent years, the RCMP increased their vigilance around policies and procedures for monitoring prisoners and invested in technological and structural improvements to the custodial setting. However, in the context of Mr. Silverfox’s death and other deaths in police custody in Canada, an innovative model for care and supervision of RCMP prisoners was proposed with the creation of the Arrest Processing Unit.
Design and construction of the Arrest Processing Unit (amounts to be confirmed when complete).
The implementation of the project has been phased in. The Memorandum of Agreement for keeping prisoners in the Arrest Processing Unit was signed by Yukon and the RCMP on May 18, 2011. In late 2011, the RCMP requested that the Department of Justice temporarily assume responsibility for holding RCMP prisoners at Whitehorse Correctional Centre. The RCMP agreed to this transitional model while construction of the Arrest Processing Unit was underway. The Admissions and Discharge area of the new Whitehorse Correctional Centre was opened on January 4th, 2012, to temporarily hold RCMP prisoners. Whitehorse Correctional Centre and RCMP will operate under this alternative arrangement until the physical structure of the Arrest Processing Unit has been built. During this transition period, the RCMP have converted the Whitehorse Detachment cellblock into interview rooms which are intended for active investigations.The foundation of the Arrest Processing Unit has been laid and plans continue for completion of construction by spring 2014.
The former model of care for RMCP prisoners in Whitehorse included monitoring of prisoners by RCMP members and civilian guards and matrons. The guards and matrons monitored prisoners but were not permitted to enter cells to verify the condition of prisoners; this was left to RCMP members who would balance these duties with other operational demands. The Arrest Processing Unit places RCMP prisoners in the care of correctional officers whose primary role is focused on managing persons in custody, with special attention placed on the safety and security of staff and prisoners or inmates.Processes such as admission of prisoners, interviews, medical assessment and care, and discharge will happen in an environment monitored by Corrections staff. Corrections staff will receive specialized training and be able to directly supervise and intervene in Arrest Processing Unit cells in order to safely and appropriately manage persons in custody. The Arrest Processing Unit will allow for specific operations and functions of RCMP members to be reassigned to Corrections staff. This will refocus some of the workload of frontline RCMP members to community policing activities and may mitigate the need for future RCMP staffing increases. The Arrest Processing Unit will allow for a reduction of prisoner transportation requirements between RCMP ‘M’ Division cells, Whitehorse Correctional Centre, Whitehorse General Hospital and courts. Reducing transportation increases levels of safety and security for prisoners, escort staff and the public.
Yes
Through working in partnership, the RCMP and Department of Justice can ensure the safety and quality of care for persons being held in police custody.
No
A formal evaluation is planned. The number of people who are going through the Arrest Processing Unit are being monitored, as well as the cost associated with the running of the facility, and the satisfaction of the individuals involved—the RCMP and Department of Justice and even users of the facility. Once the facility has been constructed and we move from the current operating model then we will continue to monitor this information. We will also be able to evaluate the systems and processes currently being used to see if there are any tweaks that need to be made.
N/A
2013-08-01