Parliamentary Committee Notes: Structured Intervention Units
Date: May 9, 2022
Classification: Unclassified
Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes
Branch / Agency: CSC
Proposed Response – Report’s Findings
- The Government of Canada welcomes the recent report from the Implementation Advisory Panel.
- Administrative segregation was ended in 2019. It was replaced with a system that the Correctional Investigator has acknowledged provides greater access to services, staff, programs and interventions targeted to the needs of inmates.
- As a result of previous recommendations provided by independent review bodies, the Service has taken a number of actions including updating its information management systems to produce accurate data and demonstrate compliance with the legislation.
- The Government is carefully reviewing these new findings to identify any additional actions to be taken.
If Pressed - Successes
- Structured Intervention Units are used as a last resort.
- The daily occupancy rate inside an SIU are now half of what it was under the previous model.
- In addition, the targeted nature of SIUs has resulted in a notable annual increase in the percentage of inmates successfully reintegrating into the mainstream population.
If Pressed – Overrepresentation
- There remains an overrepresentation of Indigenous people and other racialized groups in our criminal justice system, including corrections.
- Before authorizing a transfer to an SIU, specific needs based on Indigenous Social History factors are considered while alternative options among CSC’s Indigenous programming is sought.
- When a transfer to an SIU is deemed necessary, culturally relevant support is offered by providing access to Elders, Spiritual Advisors, and Indigenous liaison officers.
- We are looking closely at the data to examine reasons behind their transfer and work to ensure they are equipped to safely return and stay in a suitable mainstream population.
If Pressed – Mental Health
- The decision to transfer an inmate to an SIU always includes consideration of the inmate's health needs.
- Within 24 hours of being transferred to an SIU, an inmate is referred to health services for a health assessment, including mental health.
- This is repeated at regular intervals.
- At the same time, we recognize the importance of ensuring that inmates with mental health challenges are placed in the most appropriate setting, where they can receive ongoing and timely care and interventions based on their needs.
Background:
In November 2019, administrative segregation was abolished and CSC implemented a new, intervention-based correctional model called Structured Intervention Units (SIUs). Structured Intervention Units (SIUs) allow CSC to separate inmates who cannot be managed within a mainstream inmate population while continuing to provide these inmates the opportunity to access rehabilitative programming and interventions. On a daily basis, inmates in an SIU:
- Receive offers of interventions and programming specific to the reasons that led to the transfer, and to assist in facilitating their return to mainstream population;
- Have an opportunity to be outside of their cell for at least four hours a day, and have an opportunity to interact with others for at least two hours;
- Receive a visit from the Institutional Head;
- Receive time to shower; and
- Receive daily visits from healthcare professionals who may recommend for health reasons that the inmate’s conditions of confinement be altered or that they not remain in the unit.
There are 15 SIUs across the country which are used for inmates who may be at risk, pose a risk to others or jeopardize the security of the institution. CSC works to provide inmates in an SIU with customized and targeted interventions to support their safe return to a mainstream inmate population as soon as possible.
For context, there is consistently less than 180 inmates in SIUs across the country on a daily basis – about 1.5 per cent of the total inmate population. This is approximately half of the inmates who were in administrative segregation in 2019. This reinforces that SIUs are being used sparingly, often as a last resort. Our results show a notable increase in the percentage of inmates who were transferred to SIUs who have since successfully reintegrated into the mainstream population, from 56 per cent last fiscal year to more than 66 per cent as of March 2022.
IAP Report
The IAP listed four main findings related to: SIU transfers and Indigenous inmates; consistency in regional approaches both in the use of SIUs and the length of stay; the application of offers for time out of cell and meaningful human contact; and the mental health of inmates. These are all areas that we are further examining to ensure we take any additional actions necessary.
Oversight
Additionally, there are effective safeguards in place, including through the Independent External Decision Makers (IEDMs) who provide oversight in specific circumstances on the decision to maintain or not maintain an inmate’s stay in an SIU as well as on their conditions of confinement while in these units. We implement their recommendations, and their decisions are binding.
While in an SIU, CSC actively makes offers to encourage inmates to spend time out of their cells. In addition, we are improving our data tools and real-time tracking of offers for time out of cell and whether inmates avail themselves of these offers. This helps us take more targeted and case-specific actions.We also consider the reasons why some inmates decline the opportunities offered to determine how to better support and engage them. CSC staff work to provide access to relevant programs and look for opportunities to offer meaningful interaction with others.
For example, at Atlantic Institution in New Brunswick, the Canadian Families and Corrections Network (CFCN) is offering the Dad Hero program to help inmates in an SIU build connections with their children and family. To encourage offenders to get out of their cell, an educator at Millhaven Institution in Ontario has implemented a Physical Education course: Health for Life. This program has changed offenders’ attitudes towards education and several inmates have successfully completed their high school diploma while in the SIU.
Finally, the decision to transfer an inmate to an SIU always includes consideration of the inmate's health needs. Within 24 hours of being transferred to an SIU, an inmate is referred to health services for a health assessment, including mental health. This is repeated at regular intervals. At the same time, we recognize the importance of ensuring that inmates with mental health challenges are placed in the most appropriate setting, where they can receive ongoing and timely care and interventions based on their needs.
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