Stop blaming front line correctional staff who work under impossible conditions: OPSEU/SEFPO statement on ICIT deployment at Maplehurst Correctional Complex

TORONTO, Aug. 23, 2024 /CNW/ - OPSEU/SEFPO leaders are speaking out in order to provide much-needed context in response to media reports about an Institutional Crisis Intervention Team (ICIT) deployment at Maplehurst Correctional Complex following an unprovoked, severe assault on a correctional officer in December 2023.

The assault on the correctional officer took place in an overcrowded, understaffed general population maximum security unit, where inmates charged with the most violent offences and gang-related charges are held on remand. After the assault, a comprehensive threat assessment was completed as per usual practice.

"As union representatives, we often see Ministry management fail to take assaults and threats against correctional workers seriously," said Chad Oldfield, Chair of OPSEU/SEFPO's Correctional Bargaining Unit. "But in this case, after the threat assessment, it was clear that there was a serious, credible, and ongoing threat against correctional staff. That's why a comprehensive search by the ICIT was ordered and approved by senior managers to be carried out across the unit."

High threat level searches by ICIT are rarely used, and require stringent oversight from senior management. Ontario regulations authorize the use of force in certain circumstances, including conducting searches and maintaining order within an institution.

"ICIT members are correctional officers with specialized training to carry out tactical operations under the most dangerous, volatile and violent conditions," said Oldfield. "Any operation they undertake is meticulously planned and approved. It's then directed and overseen by senior management every step of the way. Our ICIT members across the province carry out their specialized duties professionally and according to approved plans."

Oldfield rejected the negative characterizations of the December 2023 ICIT deployment at Maplehurst reported in recent media stories. "The inflammatory language used to describe these operations shows total disrespect for correctional workers who risk their lives every day keeping communities across Ontario safe," he said. "ICIT operations are not used as a form of punishment or retribution. They are used to maintain order and safety within the institutions."

There is a current, ongoing investigation of the operation in question at Maplehurst by the Ministry of the Solicitor General. OPSEU/SEFPO correctional workers are cooperating with the investigation, with full support and representation from their union.

"You can't just rely on inmate accounts to assess the security level and threat posed to staff and inmates inside of a correctional institution," said Oldfield. "That just doesn't make sense, especially when violence perpetuated by inmates continues to rise within correctional institutions."

Violence against correctional staff remains largely unchecked. In 2023, there were more than 1,800 incidents of workplace violence from inmates directed toward correctional staff, and more than 950 of those were assaults.

"That's more than two assaults per day – it's the highest number of assaults against staff that we've ever seen," said Oldfield. "Where is the outrage over the violence experienced by our members on a daily basis?"

Oldfield also questioned the lack of response from the senior management within the Ministry of the Solicitor General. "Why have they stayed largely silent in the face of this one-sided narrative instead of defending their employees? The media is quick to blame frontline staff for the dysfunctional system rather than decision makers that refuse to provide the resources needed to operate institutions safely."

OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick called out the Ontario government for their lack of investment to fix the impossible working conditions and inhumane living conditions inside Ontario's correctional institutions.

"Correctional workers face some of the toughest working conditions in the province," said Hornick. "They come in every day to over-crowded, understaffed institutions with crumbling infrastructure and lack of proper programming and mental health supports for inmates. OPSEU/SEFPO and our Correctional Bargaining Unit leaders and members have been raising these issues for years. And yet, successive governments refuse to fix these dangerous conditions that explode regularly into violence, medical emergencies, injuries and deaths at institutions across Ontario."

"The Ford government can step up and support correctional workers by fixing Ontario's broken correctional system," Hornick concluded.

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO)

Media contact: Michelle Langlois, OPSEU/SEFPO Communications Officer: 647-225-6597, [email protected]