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The head of the union representing federal correctional officers says an incident at the Springhill prison in Nova Scotia’s Cumberland County is a symptom of a growing problem.
Five correctional officers were injured in a confrontation with an inmate and had to be taken to hospital on Sunday.
“We’re not talking about life-threatening [injuries], but they didn’t finish their work and they had to go the hospital to receive treatment,” union president Fredereck Lebeau said in an interview Tuesday.
“And you know it’s going to be the aftermath afterwards, we’re talking about PTSD, the way that the families will react to that assault. It will have a ripple effect at the end of the day.”
Lebeau said hardly a day goes by that he doesn’t get a call from the Correctional Service of Canada, telling him about an incident involving one of his officers.
Lebeau attributes part of the problem to an influx of drugs and weapons into prisons, most dropped off by drones. He said officers need more tools, like jamming equipment to block cell phone signals and detectors to help guards find illegal phones.
Lebeau said staffing is also a chronic issue in prisons and he said more manpower is needed to do more security patrols.
In a statement, the Correctional Service of Canada said the assailant has been identified and “appropriate actions will be taken.” However, the statement did not provide more information because the incident is being investigated by both the service and the RCMP.
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