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Today’s Blog Post
Prod the Bear - Poke the Bear
- Stick it to the Bear - Make him even more miserable -- That is progress!
Yesterday Minister of Public Safety Vic
Toews, of the Conservative Party of Canada, made an announcement that things
are changing in the Canadian Prison system again.
It was a just a few weeks ago that major
changes began to happen within the CSC (Correctional Service Canada) after his
other announcements.
The announcement that Kingston Penitentiary
(KP) would be closing took a lot of people off guard. That was especially true for
the guards and staff at KP when reports of the closure were announced(leaked)
to the press before the staff heard about it. The CBC Media released the news
before anyone heard. Planned that way???
Hmmmm?
Now yesterday another announcement was
made related to the way that Inmates inside of the prison system are to be paid
and have to pay back the prison system – with their salaries made inside of the
prison system.
This announcement also included the increase
in the rent that prisoners have to pay CSC for the use of their cell. That’s right – they will pay more for their
housing while they are in prison now – and they will pay for that out of the money
that they are making for doing jobs inside of the prison – for the prison – to keep
the prison running.
Now Minister Toews prefaces what he is
about to announce with these words… quote…
“Our Government is
committed to keeping our streets and communities safe. All too often, victims
have told us they feel the criminals have all the rights. We’ve listened. And
since taking office our Government has been working hard to restore balance to
our criminal justice system,” end quote.
And as he continues in his announcements
of the changes that are going to take place he states they will do that by raising
the rent that men will pay inside of prison.
Now any thinking person has to
ask some serious questions here…
- What does that do for community safety? Our streets? Our cities?
- What does that do for a Victim of the Crime that the man or woman hurt in our society?
- How will that help our communities now or when the man gets out of prison?
- What will it do for the man that is serving his time in prison to get him ready for his eventual release from prison?
When you prod a Bear with a
sick to make it more miserable in the cage – do you think the bear will cooperate
better and that the public watching the Zoo Keepers actions will feel more safe
when the Bear is released?
Up to this point in time virtually
nothing has been done for the Victim of Crime.
Even with the protesting and public
being made aware of the problems the Victims of Crime faced with Parole
Hearings and the potential release of the criminal – the Government made no
changes at all. For years the Victim was
never given any help at all.
Now they get their way paid to
attend a hearing and are allowed to read their statements at the parole
hearing. That happens if they have registered as a Victim of Crime. (I admit
that I am not up to date on every detail of how a Victim is treated now – but this
is close to what is happening.)
Minister Toews’ announcement
suggests that this will help Victim’s of Crime in some way or other. By increasing
the rent on an Inmates Cell will make his Victim feel better. By increasing the
rent will make the public think that something good has helped to make the
Victim move on past their victimization.
I cannot really explain how
stupid I THINK THIS IS! It does not help the Victim one little bit!
What will Minister Toews
announce next – maybe they will provide ongoing counseling for each Victim for
as long as they need it. Maybe that would help.
Right now – after the Victim
of Crime gives their testimony at the trial and is allowed to (maybe) read
their Victim Impact Statement – they are never going to hear from their
Government again! Never ever!!! Except if they are “registered” they will be
able to receive information if he is getting parole – maybe in 25 years…?????? Or
whatever?????
Yep, raising the rent on a
cell and for his board and room will really help the Victim of Crime.
Really!!!! Honestly???? Do you believe that one?!?
Now to the Bear in the cage… the Inmate..
They are evil men and women
for sure. They have done bad things that they are in need of paying for what
they did. Each one has a least one Victim of their Crime – one or maybe all of
us.
They are paying for these
rotten things they have done in our society by losing their freedom. Now they
are losing their health and their right to any person-hood that normal Canadians
are enjoying every day of their lives.
They are Big Bad Bears that
have been caught in the camp ground of life. They have frightened the campers
and need to be removed to a faraway valley where they can never harm any of us
again.
So we capture them, cage them,
and make them plain miserable with the hope that they will learn from their
misery and come out better in the end.
So like the mean Zoo Keeper we
take a big stick and prod and poke the Big Bad Bear to make it hurt. We torment
and scream at it. We take away all the freedom and make it now pay dearly for
its stupid actions.
In real life…
In real life if the
conservation people catch a Big Bad Bear in the camp ground they take it to a
nice valley far, far away so that it will never bother people in any way shape
or form.
What if…
What if we could take that Big
Bad Bear and harness him in some way to make him pay for the disruption of the
lives of the Campers. What if we make
him pay for what he did… by making him really angry inside the cage?
Animal Rights People would
explode in all directions if the Zoo Keeper did that!
But you can do that to human
beings and just because you know best – you can stick it to them in every way
you think it is best. You can make the Big Bad Bear miserable and into a
monster… and then you can EXPECT it to be released as a healthy, happy, contributing
citizen in our society… that might even vote for you!!!!
Does it seem to make sense to
you now?
Prod the Bear. Poke the Bear.
Stick it to the Bear. Make him even more miserable. That is progress – real progress.
That is stupid – real stupid.
In reality…
When a man gets out of prison
in 5 years, in 10 years or in 25 years – how will he live? Who will pay for his rent then? If he can work – what will he do? How will he contribute to our society then?
In reality his health will be
broken. If he comes out of prison in
Ontario he will be eligible to receive our ODSP – the Ontario Disability Support
Program. He can easily prove that a long
term prison system has ruined his health.
His mental health issues will
likely be so great that he will not be able to function in any way without
great amounts of community help from people who care.
But will there be people that
actually will care?
Would it not be easier to just
commit another crime and return to prison again? You betcha. I have “friends” that lived in
our community that did just that… because out here you are not able to cope –
once you have been in there for a long time.
Way to go Minister Vic Toews,
that is real progress. You have saved us all $10 Million a year. You have made away that my grandkids and
their kids will really have to pay down the road.
That is progress and that is
humane. Way to go Minister… way to go!
(BTW – Did you know that
Russell Williams and Paul Barnardo will not have their rent increased? They are in protective custody – forever!)
~ Murray Lincoln ~
Resources:
Harper Government Takes Further Actions to Restore Balance in the Criminal Justice System
Ottawa, Ontario, May 9, 2012 – Today, the Minister of Public Safety, the Honourable Vic Toews,
announced increased offender accountability measures to ensure the safety and
security of victims and law-abiding Canadians come first, while criminals are
held accountable for their actions.
“Our
Government is committed to keeping our streets and communities safe. All too
often, victims have told us they feel the criminals have all the rights. We’ve
listened. And since taking office our Government has been working hard to
restore balance to our criminal justice system,” said Minister Toews.
Minister
Toews announced five new measures relating to increasing offender
accountability, including:
·
Increases to the amount inmates are charged for their room and
board;
·
Eliminating ‘incentive’ pay for inmates working in CORCAN
facilities;
·
Streamlining and standardizing the purchase of inmate goods from
outside suppliers;
·
Transferring accountability for all institutional canteens to
Inmate Committees; and
·
Ensuring administrative costs associated with managing the inmate
telephone system are charged to the inmate population. You use it – you
pay for it.
“These
measures are tangible steps forward to hold criminals to account and will save
taxpayers over $10 million each year going forward,” said Minister Toews.
Minister
Toews also expressed support for Roxanne James’ Private Member’s Bill C-293 – An Act to amend the Corrections
and Conditional Release Act (vexatious complainants). The goal of
the bill is to reduce vexatious complainants by preventing offenders from
flooding Correctional Service of Canada’s fair complaint system with meritless
grievances.
To
learn more about the Correctional Service of Canada, please visit http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/.
Follow
Public Safety Canada (@Safety_Canada)
on Twitter.
See also:
Offender Accountability
The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) is the federal government agency responsible for
administering sentences of a term of two years or more, as imposed by the
courts. CSC is responsible for managing institutions of various security levels
and supervising offenders under conditional release in the community.
Offender Accountability
Broader Application of Room and Board
CSC
currently charges inmates at the top of the payscale up to $25 per week for
room and board from their stipend, or inmate pay.
Inmates
who participate in programs, including employment, as identified in their
correctional plan receive a stipend. There are six stipend levels:
·
Level 1 = $1.00 per day to a maximum of $10.00 every two weeks
·
Level 2 = $2.50 per day to a maximum of $25.00 every two weeks
·
Level 3 = $5.25 per day to a maximum of $52.50 every two weeks
·
Level 4 = $5.80 per day to a maximum of $58.00 every two weeks
·
Level 5 = $6.35 per day to a maximum of $63.50 every two weeks
·
Level 6 = $6.90 per day to a maximum of $69.00 every two weeks
Starting
next year (2013-14), all inmates at stipend levels 3 through 6 will
automatically start contributing about 30% of their stipend towards room and
board.
In
dollar figures, this means between $1.58 and $2.08 per day for the cost of
accommodation, food, and utilities, for example.
This
measure will more closely align offender contributions towards their room and
board with costs that law-abiding Canadians incur for these types of expenses.
Cost
savings: $4.025 million annually
Elimination of Incentive Pay
In
addition to inmate pay, offenders working in CORCAN facilities have been
eligible to receive additional "incentive pay" to meet production
quotas. CORCAN operates in 31
institutions across Canada, in four business lines: textiles,
manufacturing, construction, and services (such as printing and laundry).
CORCAN shops provide a realistic business environment, producing products and
services to private sector norms and standards. Given the demand for
participation in CORCAN shops, there is no need to provide “incentive pay.”
Cost
savings: $1.747 million annually
Conversion to Inmate-Owned Canteens
In
the past, CSC acquired canteen products such as personal hygiene items and
snacks and sold them directly to inmates. Over recent years, the organization
has transferred the ownership of 85% of institutional canteens to inmates. This
initiative will see the remaining 15% converted to inmate ownership. CSC will
retain supervision of transactions to ensure rigorous and thorough oversight.
Transferring
all canteens to inmates will result in a cost-savings to CSC, and will also
allow inmates to have greater influence in the administration of the canteen,
which includes the creation of additional inmate jobs.
Cost
savings: $1.555 million annually
Streamlining and standardizing the purchase of inmate goods from outside suppliers
Currently,
if an inmate requires an item, such as those relating to personal hygiene, that
is not in stock or available at the inmate canteen, they fill out a request,
and a staff member goes to a store to buy it for them. There is no nationally
consistent structure to the process of how and when purchase requests are
received or fulfilled.
Institutional
staff are not personal shoppers. They deserve the opportunity to focus on
the very important jobs we have entrusted them to do inside the walls of the
institution.
Moving
forward, CSC will standardize the way inmates can purchase goods. CSC
will implement a uniform approach to procuring inmate effects by establishing a
set schedule, where staff would seek products at a predetermined frequency from
an established list of suppliers. Further efficiencies can also be realized
where clustered institutions exist. There will also be the option of
ordering from a catalogue.
Cost
savings: $1.048 million annually
Changes to the Inmate Telephone System
Managing
the inmate telephone system is costly. CSC staff are required to
breakdown the costs associated with each inmate’s phone usage when the monthly
invoice arrives and recoup those costs. This requires substantial time
and effort on behalf of CSC staff.
We
intend to ensure that these administrative costs are charged to the inmate
population. You use it – you pay for it.
Cost
Saving: $1.649 million annually
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