Victoria police have joined judges, lawyers and advocacy organizations in calling for a remand centre for female prisoners on Vancouver Island.
In recent months, provincial court judges have called the lack of a facility for women offenders unacceptable and discriminatory. On one occasion, a Victoria provincial court judge apologized “on behalf of the state” to a young woman who was held for three days in the lockup at West Shore RCMP.
Women who are arrested are often held in police cells, sometimes for days at a time, without showers, in conditions that replicate solitary confinement. They’re also rushed through their court appearances and flown out of their community to the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women in Maple Ridge.
Victoria deputy police chief Del Manak said the department favours a remand facility for women on Vancouver Island.
“We don’t have a facility here to house them even on a temporary basis. It really makes sense to have a regional approach to this and to have a facility here that’s purpose-built for them,” Manak said.
Responsibility for the issue lies with the province, he said. “These are provincial prisoners that are remanded into custody. But if we’re invited to participate [in discussions] and offer our opinion and expertise, we’re not going to say no. But really, it has little to do with the police department.”
Justice Minister Shirley Bond and B.C. Corrections spokeswoman Marnie Mayhew have declined repeated requests for interviews.
Last week, B.C. Corrections issued a statement saying it has been working with police services division on the issue.
Clayton Pecknold, director of police services, has discussed the issue with Brent Merchant, assistant deputy minister of B.C. Corrections, and “has agreed to canvass the B.C. chiefs concerning the matter,” said Jeff Groot, communications director for the Justice Ministry, on Thursday.
The Corrections statement said inmate care and safety, whether in police cells or correctional facilities, is a priority — “as is doing this in a way that is cost-effective for taxpayers.”
In May 2012, Victoria police wrote to the deputy provincial director of the adult custody division, advising that effective Sept. 3, 2012, the force would no longer accept female remand prisoners for more than one night. Police were concerned that women brought to their cells for a night or two before a court appearance ended up staying six or seven days, Manak said. However, women still end up staying longer when options are limited.
“And it was just unacceptable because our facility was inadequate to hold people for that period of time,” he said. “We don’t have a facility to give them proper regular meals. All our meals are fast food. We don’t have the opportunity to give them a space where they can have exercise, where there’s open fresh air … We don’t have a change of clothing. We have a mattress. There’s bedding. But the shower facilities are inadequate and personal visits are difficult to facilitate.
“Our facility was not built for this. That’s the problem,” Manak said.
More troubling is the lack of access to health care because no nurses work at Victoria police cells, he said. If women need health care or medication, officers take them to hospital, where they wait for two or three hours in handcuffs, Manak said.
“We ensure they are looked after while in our care because the risks are so high. It’s not just about health and risk, it’s about fair treatment and safety as well,” he said.
Manak said the department receives about $9 per prisoner per hour from the government. “And I can assure you that the cost of running a jail facility in the year 2013 is substantially more than $9 per person per hour.”
B.C. Corrections said in its statement that “the current funding we provide to local municipalities for this service is sufficient for police to meet the daily needs of female inmates during their time in lockup.”
But money is not the issue, Manak said.
“No matter how much money we receive, the facility is inadequate.”
