Loved ones and lawyers unable to see inmates at HMP due to staff shortages
The visiting room at HMP has been open for 25 per cent of its scheduled time, says Justice Dept.
Marie Maher only speaks to her son in Her Majesty's Penitentiary once a month. When she does get the chance, the conversation is often only one minute long.
He's been in the penitentiary before, but Maher says this time is different, as she used to be able to talk to him every day.
Her phone can't take collect calls, so someone else needs to connect Maher to her son through a three-way call. She also doesn't live in St. John's, so making time to come into town for a visitation has been nearly impossible, as they're frequently cancelled at the last minute, she says.
"You're on your way in and all of a sudden you're going to [get] a call it's cancelled," said Maher.
"I'm not pleased with it. It's not right," she said. "I wish I was in there, closer to him."
Maher isn't alone. Former inmates, friends and family have come together on social media to keep up to date on the conditions inside HMP.
Almost every day someone will share an update on visitations, the status of a lockdown or ask for messages to be passed along to inmates — a last-ditch attempt to reach their loved ones on the inside. This year, the facility has been plagued by frequent staff shortages and lockdowns, affecting phone calls and visitations.
Between June 1 and Sept. 7, the visiting room at HMP was open for 25 per cent of its scheduled time, according to the Justice Department in a statement.
"While operational security takes precedence over all scheduled programming and visitation, appointments from legal services or medical professionals are prioritized," said the statement.
When Maher does get a call, her son talks about the conditions inside the facility, including a well-documented rodent infestation.
"I can't sleep in the night time because I'm always thinking about him," said Maher.
The Justice Department refused an interview on the matter. Spokesperson Eric Humber said since June, inmates have participated in recreational activities 20 times, with eight of those occurrences taking place outside.
"That place really needs a big change," said Maher. "They shouldn't be putting up with that stuff like that in there."
Access to justice limited, lawyer says
Criminal defence lawyer Erin Breen says staff shortages have made it difficult for her to see clients.
She says she wasn't able to properly prepare for a bail hearing at the Supreme Court in August after being denied contact with her client in prison.
"It was explained to me after that there was a person who needed to go to the hospital at the same time, therefore they did not have sufficient resources to accommodate both a hospital visit and a lawyer meeting at the same time," said Breen.
Luckily for Breen and her client, the judge understood the situation and allowed them to return the next day.
However, Breen remains frustrated by the conditions at HMP, saying that in Newfoundland and Labrador, there are no legislated rights for inmates.
"We're in a standardless society and in my view, the inmate population right now is vulnerable, they're powerless, and it's very difficult to get people to care about that," she said.
"If people think that punishing people like this … not giving them access to visits, locking them down, no recreation, no rehabilitation, that that's somehow making us safer? That is a fallacy. That is wrong."
Breen says many inmates experiencing these conditions haven't been found guilty and are awaiting trial.
"They have a right to prepare," she said, "and they can't do that."
'Untold and miserable impact on our staff'
Jerry Earle, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees, which represents HMP corrections employees, says staffing shortages have been an ongoing issue.
Earle says the province barely has the staff necessary to run the prison.
"These hospitalizations of inmates, for example, draw many staff away from the facility because they have to actually be present when the inmate is at emerge or admitted to a hospital," said Earle.
Among the issues staff shortages cause for inmates, Earle says there's also an increased risk to staff, who often work 24-hour shifts. The many hours of work due to staff shortages are causing physical and mental health problems for some employees, he says.
"It's having an untold and miserable impact on our staff," he said. "They have to work … a minimum of 25 years in the prison environment, and it's taking a toll on these officers when they cannot actually get a regular scheduled day off."
While government leadership changes have caused some problems, Earle says the current justice minister, Bernard Davis, has been open to recruiting domestic and newcomer workers into corrections positions and increasing the number of seats in corrections training programs.
In the meantime, Earle says the union will continue to listen to front-line workers to come up with solutions.
"One thing we want from inmates is as many as possible to return to our society, that can be productive in our society," said Earle.
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
