Yellowknife's North Slave Correctional Centre sees influx of gang members
9 per cent of inmates at the Yellowknife jail are 856 gang members
Nine per cent of the inmates at the North Slave Correctional Centre are 856 gang members.
After a number of recent drug raids in Yellowknife, RCMP say there's been a change in the city's gang scene: the majority of 856 gang members are now behind bars.
The head of RCMP's Federal Investigations Unit, Sgt. Dean Riou, said the 865 gang out of B.C., is now laying low.
The director of corrections in the N.W.T., Monty Bourke, says they were aware when the RCMP set drugs and gangs as a priority last year that there would be an influx at territorial institutions, and he says they prepared for it.
"What we did was we enhanced some of our activities related to gang management and tracking these chaps," Bourke says.
Every inmate who enters the jail goes through a security assessment, and Bourke says gang members go through a second tier — they meet with a deputy who has a background in gang intelligence.
"Basically that's to see if there's any other conflicts with offenders that they may have had on the street that we don't want them to develop or foster when they're in our custody."
Bourke says those sessions are producing results.
"They're given messages, very strong messages, about no recruiting, no intimidation. We don't tolerate that of staff or other inmates."
But, Bourke admits there is recruiting going on in facilities. He says correctional staff are aware of it and have been given additional training to try and stop it.
"Some offenders don't get the message, so our message needs to be reinforced," he says. "Some don't always play by those rules and they decide they want to kick their heels up."
If an offender is acting up, Bourke says staff may intervene with a disciplinary charge and offenders may also be placed in a high security area for up to 15 days segregation.
'We also have a big hammer'
Bourke says if offenders aren't adjusting and are posing a risk to fellow inmates or staff, they'll be sent to federal penitentiaries.
"We also have a big hammer. And that is that we have an exchange of services agreement with the feds," Bourke says.
"We can ship them south. And that's under my authority, and we've done that with gang members and it's a different environment down there. They're in the big houses with the big boys."
Bourke adds that most gang members keep a low profile because they don't want to draw attention to themselves or complicate their sentences.
"Most of the offenders are compliant and they just want to do their time and get out. And that includes gang members as well."