prison

James Lee Busch and Zachary Armitage escaped from the William Head institution on July 7, 2019 and were subsequently charged with first-degree murder in the death of martin Payne of Metchosin. A civil case launched by Payne’s daughters blames the correctional system for their escape and the death of their father. (Correctional Service of Canada/Facebook)

Daughters suing prison system over B.C. man’s death following prison break

Civil suit alleges Correctional Service of Canada staff failed repeatedly in death of Martin Payne

 

FILE - WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, July 7, 2022. Closing arguments in Brittney Griner’s cannabis possession case in Russia are set for Thursday. That’s nearly six months after the American basketball star was arrested at a Moscow airport in a case that has reached the highest levels of U.S.-Russia diplomacy. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Russian judge sentences WNBA’s Brittney Griner to 9 years in prison

Griner convicted of possessing and smuggling cannabis oil into the country

 

Used needles are shown at a needle exchange in Miami, May 6, 2019. Despite pandemic slow-downs, Correctional Service Canada is still planning to expand the needle exchange programs currently offered at nine federal prisons, government officials say. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Lynne Sladky

Expansion of prison needle exchange programs going ahead despite pandemic delays

Program operating in nine Canadian prisons so far

 

A jail cell at the Nanaimo RCMP detachment. (Black Press Media file photo)

B.C.’s Ombudsperson calls for oversight of municipal jails after detainee left screaming in pain

Currently no means of recourse for detainees mistreated by jail guards in RCMP-policed communities

A jail cell at the Nanaimo RCMP detachment. (Black Press Media file photo)
Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford (Abbotsford News file photo)

Over $280K in contraband seized at Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford

Package located on July 5 contained drugs, drug paraphernalia and ‘communication devices’

Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford (Abbotsford News file photo)
Iris McNeil was murdered in 1997 by James Shortreed, who was recently denied in his request for temporary absences from William Head Institution in Metchosin, where he has been incarcerated for roughly 25 years. (Photo courtesy of the McNeil family)

Lower Mainland killer denied bid for temporary absences from Vancouver Island prison

Parole board finds James Shortreed’s absence plan insufficient; risk factors not addressed

Iris McNeil was murdered in 1997 by James Shortreed, who was recently denied in his request for temporary absences from William Head Institution in Metchosin, where he has been incarcerated for roughly 25 years. (Photo courtesy of the McNeil family)
The Mission Correctional Institution in Mission, B.C. is pictured Tuesday, April 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward.

Corrections officers sound alarm after B.C. prison manager promoted amid harassment complaints

Fraser Valley corrections officers say abusive managers face no discipline from CSC

The Mission Correctional Institution in Mission, B.C. is pictured Tuesday, April 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward.
A shoulder patch on a correctional officer is shown at the Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. The Correctional Service of Canada said it is working to provide timely access to addiction treatment after settling a human rights complaint launched in 2018. THE CANADIAN/Lars Hagberg

Correctional Service settles human rights case for prisoners addicted to opioids

Settlement agreement was reached last month

A shoulder patch on a correctional officer is shown at the Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. The Correctional Service of Canada said it is working to provide timely access to addiction treatment after settling a human rights complaint launched in 2018. THE CANADIAN/Lars Hagberg
A COVID-19 outbreak at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre in Saanich has seen 18 inmates test positive for the virus as of Nov. 1. (Black Press Media file photo)

Island Health declares COVID-19 outbreak at Saanich jail

Comes after 18 inmates test positive in associated cases

A COVID-19 outbreak at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre in Saanich has seen 18 inmates test positive for the virus as of Nov. 1. (Black Press Media file photo)
Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford (Abbotsford News file photo)

Crystal meth worth $183K located at Abbotsford prison

Package containing the drugs seized Oct. 11 from Matsqui Institution

Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford (Abbotsford News file photo)
A union representing workers is calling for more safety measures at Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre. (Black Press Media file photo)

Six new COVID-19 cases at Vancouver Island Regional Correction Centre

Union calls for more robust prevention measures and funding for the sake of all inside

A union representing workers is calling for more safety measures at Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre. (Black Press Media file photo)
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 10, 2009, file photo, former financier Bernie Madoff exits federal court in Manhattan, in New York. Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, has died in prison, a person familiar with the matter tells The Associated Press(AP Photo/David Karp, File)

Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff dies in prison: AP source

Madoff admitted swindling thousands of clients out of billions of dollars in investments over decades

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 10, 2009, file photo, former financier Bernie Madoff exits federal court in Manhattan, in New York. Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, has died in prison, a person familiar with the matter tells The Associated Press(AP Photo/David Karp, File)
Computer memory cards are shown on display in a retail store in Cranberry Township, Pa., on Thursday, May 9, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Keith Srakocic

Federal Court orders B.C. prison to return PlayStation game card to inmate

Fischer is currently serving a life term for the 1999 murder of 16-year-old Darci Drefko of Merritt, B.C.

Computer memory cards are shown on display in a retail store in Cranberry Township, Pa., on Thursday, May 9, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Keith Srakocic
Francesca Paceri, a registered pharmacist technician, carefully fills a needle with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine at a clinic in Toronto on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. A director at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association believes provinces should set targets for vaccinating inmates in provincial jails — something most jurisdictions have yet to do. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Some provinces yet to say when jail inmates to be vaccinated against COVID-19

Experts say that inmates are in a vulnerable situation when it comes to the pandemic

Francesca Paceri, a registered pharmacist technician, carefully fills a needle with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine at a clinic in Toronto on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. A director at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association believes provinces should set targets for vaccinating inmates in provincial jails — something most jurisdictions have yet to do. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
A female prisoner sent Langford police officers a thank-you card after she spent days in their custody. (Twitter/West Shore RCMP)

Woman gives Victoria-area jail 4.5-star review in handwritten card to police after arrest

‘We don’t often get thank you cards from people who stay with us, but this was sure nice to see’: RCMP

A female prisoner sent Langford police officers a thank-you card after she spent days in their custody. (Twitter/West Shore RCMP)
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal dismissed the complaint of a former Okanagan Correction Centre inmate Dec. 3, 2020 regarding his denial of kosher meals while incarcerated. (Dustin Godfrey/Western News file)

Human Rights Tribunal dismisses kosher meal complaint from Okanagan inmate

Tribunal determines the inmate failed to provide any evidence he should be served kosher meals

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal dismissed the complaint of a former Okanagan Correction Centre inmate Dec. 3, 2020 regarding his denial of kosher meals while incarcerated. (Dustin Godfrey/Western News file)
A bin of COVID-19 syringes for the first round of health-care workers to be vaccinated at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is seen in Albuquerque, N.M., on Dec. 16, 2020. Advocates say inmates should have speedy access to the COVID-19 vaccine, given how susceptible prisons and jails have been to outbreaks and how prevalent chronic disease is in that population. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-HO, UNM Health

‘Grave risk:’ Advocates say inmates should get speedy access to COVID-19 vaccine

There have been several outbreaks in provincially run jails

A bin of COVID-19 syringes for the first round of health-care workers to be vaccinated at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is seen in Albuquerque, N.M., on Dec. 16, 2020. Advocates say inmates should have speedy access to the COVID-19 vaccine, given how susceptible prisons and jails have been to outbreaks and how prevalent chronic disease is in that population. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-HO, UNM Health
Nanaimo Correctional Centre. (News Bulletin file photo)

Builder chosen for Vancouver Island’s $157-million new jail

Stuart Olson Construction wins contract, ‘pre-construction’ to begin in first quarter of the new year

Nanaimo Correctional Centre. (News Bulletin file photo)
The Edmonton Institution for Women in Edmonton is shown on Wednesday Nov. 11, 2020. The Correctional Service of Canada says five inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 in Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Advocate says second COVID-19 wave has inmates locked down in ‘atrocious’ conditions

Contact tracing is underway and testing is being offered at the three federal institutions affected

The Edmonton Institution for Women in Edmonton is shown on Wednesday Nov. 11, 2020. The Correctional Service of Canada says five inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 in Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Adam Laboucan, pictured being escorted outside court in B.C. on June 18, 1999, was 17 when he was handed an indeterminate prison sentence for sexually assaulting a three-month-old boy in Quesnel. Laboucan now identifies as female and has changed her name to Tara Desousa. (Ross Mitchell/Quesnel Cariboo Observer)

Canada’s youngest dangerous offender from B.C. denied parole; to be reviewed in 2021

Tara Desousa, then named Adam Laboucan, was 15 years old when she assaulted an infant in Quesnel

Adam Laboucan, pictured being escorted outside court in B.C. on June 18, 1999, was 17 when he was handed an indeterminate prison sentence for sexually assaulting a three-month-old boy in Quesnel. Laboucan now identifies as female and has changed her name to Tara Desousa. (Ross Mitchell/Quesnel Cariboo Observer)