The riot that happened at the Brandon Correctional Centre this past weekend didn’t come as a surprise to many in the justice system. In fact, many guards and others working in the jails in Manitoba have been warning the provincial government of the difficult time they were having controlling prisoners because there are too few guards working in overcrowded jails.
Fortunately, Brandon police and their tactical unit as well as security at the Correctional Centre were, with the use of pepper spray and stun grenades, able to regain control of the jail after four hours. Despite the fact that some injuries occurred and there was damage to the Brandon jail, it was fortunate that the riot was not much worse and that no further injuries to correctional staff and guards occurred.
The NDP government was fortunate to avoid a much worse incident this time, but if they refuse to take action on the stress that exists in the justice system, they may not be so lucky the next time an incident occurs.
As gang and violent crime has increased in Manitoba under the NDP government, so has the stress on the justice system.
Because of the increase in crime, there are now in Manitoba, crown prosecutors who are dealing with more than 300 active cases at any given time. There is no way that a crown prosecutor, whose job it is to seek convictions against those who have broken the law, is able to do the job to their full abilities when they are juggling more than 300 cases at any given time. As a result of these high caseloads, the court system has backed up to the point that many criminal cases do not come before the court for a year at least.
Because violent crime is increasing, because prosecutors are understaffed and because the court system is backed up, more and more accused criminals are sitting in jail awaiting trial. As a result the jails in Manitoba are overflowing with 500 more inmates in the jail system than it was built to handle.
The overcrowding in our prisons has created a tinderbox situation ready to ignite at any time as it did in Brandon. Because the NDP have not put resources into the justice system and jails have grown more overcrowded, those working inside the prison are put at risk, as well as police who have to respond to any incidents that occur. The overcrowding also puts pressure on the justice system to divert people who should be incarcerated away from jail or to release people out of the jail system earlier than they should be. As a result, overcrowding in our jails puts those working inside the jail and those living outside the jail at risk.
Over the last number of years the Progressive Conservative Party has implored the NDP government to get tougher on criminals and to ensure that there are resources in the justice system to prosecute criminals in a timely way and to ensure there is adequate jail space so that those who should be behind bars for the protection of society, are behind bars.
