Audit at a Glance—Corrections in the Northwest Territories—Department of Justice

Audit at a Glance Corrections in the Northwest Territories—Department of Justice

What we examined (see Focus of the Audit)

This audit focused on whether the Department of Justice was meeting its key responsibilities for inmates within the correctional system. We audited whether the Department of Justice

• adequately managed inmates in compliance with key rehabilitation and reintegration requirements, and
• adequately planned for and operated facilities to house inmates.

We did not examine court services, sentencing decisions, community corrections, or community justice programs. We also did not audit inmate case management for youth or women in custody.

The audit covered the period between 1 April 2012 and 1 September 2014.

Why we did this audit

This audit is important because corrections is a significant issue in the Northwest Territories. The correctional system plays a critical role in protecting the public through the supervision of inmates in custody and the operation of correctional programs to assist in their rehabilitation.

Under the Minister of Justice, the Department of Justice is responsible for corrections services in the Northwest Territories, as outlined in the Corrections Act and the Corrections Service Regulations. Within the Department, the Corrections Service is responsible for probation, parole, aftercare, and adult institutional services. It is also responsible for the custodial detention of youth as well as their supervision in the community under the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act and territorial Youth Justice Act. Its mission is to manage offenders in the least restrictive manner possible, and to provide opportunities for their rehabilitation and reintegration through holistic and culturally relevant approaches for the common good of society.

According to Statistics Canada, the territory’s crime rate in 2013 was the highest in the country. Department data shows there were 692 adult male admissions to correctional facilities in the 2013–14 fiscal year, including 653 at the North Slave Correctional Centre and 14 at the Fort Smith Correctional Complex (Male Unit). The figures include both remanded and sentenced admissions directly to facilities, excluding transfers between facilities.

In the 2013–14 fiscal year, approximately $38 million was allocated to the Corrections Service. This represented about 32 percent of the Department’s operations expenditures and included almost $29 million for adult and youth facilities.

What we concluded

We concluded that the Department of Justice has not met its key responsibilities for inmates within the correctional system. We concluded that the Department of Justice adequately planned for its facilities. However, we concluded that the Department did not adequately operate facilities to house inmates and did not adequately manage inmates in compliance with key rehabilitation and reintegration requirements.

What we found

Inmate case management

Overall, we found that there are serious deficiencies in case management for inmates at the North Slave and Fort Smith (Male Unit) correctional facilities. These deficiencies limit the Department’s efforts to rehabilitate inmates and prepare them for release back to the community. For those inmates with shorter sentences—who make up about half of the inmate population—the Department had not assessed the reasons for their criminal behaviour, nor had it assessed their literacy levels or intellectual functioning to develop plans for their rehabilitation. Without this information, the Department cannot assess whether the programs it offers meet the needs of inmates, in order to ensure that it is fulfilling its obligation to assist in their rehabilitation. For the half of the inmate population with longer sentences, while the Department identified rehabilitation programs to help address their criminal behaviour, it did not adequately deliver these programs. For example, some inmates identified as needing long-term, individual support to cope with alcohol or drug dependency only received weekly group Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. In other cases, inmates did not receive any programming, as it was not offered during their period of incarceration.

This is important because the Department has a responsibility under the Corrections Act to provide for the correction and treatment of offenders and protection of the community through the provision of programs and services to inmates. These serious deficiencies in case management mean that many inmates are returning to their communities without having received the support that may have assisted them in their rehabilitation and reintegration.

• Serious case management deficiencies limit the Department’s efforts to rehabilitate inmates

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should ensure that inmates receive case management assessments, consistent with requirements of the Corrections Service directives, to identify their needs, risks, and the appropriate programs to assist in their rehabilitation. The Department should ensure that this information forms part of inmates’ case management plans.

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should ensure that case plans to guide inmate rehabilitation are developed for inmates, as required by the Corrections Service directives and supporting guidance. The Department should ensure that each plan includes key information and recommendations to address an inmate’s needs and includes a release plan to help prepare an inmate for return to the community. Progress against the case plans should be documented and monitored, and adjustments should be made as necessary.

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should identify the needs and risks of its inmate population and assess its rehabilitation programs. It should also ensure that inmates have access to rehabilitation programs that reflect their needs and risks.

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should review and, where required, increase its capacity to identify inmates’ mental health concerns and ensure that inmates requiring mental health services are provided with access to sufficient counselling and psychological support.

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should examine the Corrections Service directives to ensure that case managers are provided with sufficient guidance for inmate release planning and to ensure that it is providing inmates with the support they need to help them reintegrate into the community.

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should ensure that it continues to develop and implement a performance assurance framework focused on improving compliance with case management requirements and improving inmates’ access to rehabilitation programs.

Facility management

Overall, we found that the Department of Justice has not adequately met key requirements for its management of correctional facilities. Although the Department has developed plans to meet current and future needs in facilities, which include replacing the Fort Smith Correctional Complex (Female Unit) in the 2017–18 fiscal year, it does not have sufficient measures in place to mitigate some significant safety and security concerns at this facility, where female inmates will continue to be housed in the meantime. Concerns include a lack of sufficient space for medical clearance of inmates and the housing of inmates in a facility with doors that do not lock.

We also found that the Department did not adequately monitor whether management at the North Slave and Fort Smith (Male Unit) facilities were complying with selected safety and security requirements in areas such as managing inmates in segregation, controlling contraband, and conducting fire and health inspections to ensure that facilities are safe. In many cases, we found that facility management did not follow requirements in these areas, which are intended to ensure that inmates are housed in a safe and secure environment. For example, some inmates were held in segregation without the required approvals by wardens. Furthermore, required daily and weekly reviews to determine whether it is appropriate for inmates to remain in segregation were not always done.

• The Department has assessed current and future needs and developed plans to meet them

• Some safety and security concerns at the Fort Smith Correctional Complex (Female Unit) have not been addressed

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should

  • undertake an immediate assessment of actions to mitigate risks resulting from each of the critical deficiencies in the current Fort Smith Correctional Complex (Female Unit), to ensure that all safety risks are sufficiently mitigated; and
  • establish a regular monitoring regime and report on safety risks and efforts undertaken by facility management to mitigate these risks, to ensure the safety and security of inmates and staff until the new facility becomes operational.

• The Department’s housing of inmates at North Slave and Fort Smith (Male Unit) correctional facilities presents risks to the security and safety of inmates and facility staff

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should

  • develop guidance on dynamic supervision for all correctional staff; and
  • actively and systematically monitor risks associated with housing inmates of varying security levels together, including remanded and sentenced inmates, to assess whether it is ensuring inmates’ safety and security under the Corrections Act.

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should analyze trends related to contraband, including the types of contraband and how it enters the facilities.

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should exercise oversight of facility management to ensure compliance with its policies, directives, and operating procedures for inmate surveillance and segregation, searches of inmates and visitors, and searches of cells and common areas.

• The Department has not ensured that some key safety requirements are followed at the North Slave and Fort Smith (Male Unit) correctional facilities

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should ensure that fire inspections are conducted annually and that emergency evacuation drills are conducted quarterly, as required. It should document these inspections and drills and take any corrective actions necessary.

• The Department is not adequately managing its staffing of the North Slave and Fort Smith (Male Unit) correctional facilities

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should evaluate its current staffing approach for correctional facilities to ensure that it has the number and types of staff needed to meet its core obligations under the Corrections Act.

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should determine an acceptable level of overtime for its facilities, and establish a mechanism to regularly monitor overtime usage in correctional facilities. It should also use the information it gathers to better manage overtime to help achieve acceptable overtime levels.

  Recommendation. The Department of Justice should develop and use an effective tracking system to ensure that all correctional staff members receive the required training.

Entity Responses to Recommendations

The Department of Justice agrees with our recommendations and has responded (see List of Recommendations).

Details of the audit

For more information

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