Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 Source: Maple Ridge News (CN BC) Copyright: 2006 Maple Ridge News Contact: http://www.mapleridgenews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1328 Author: Phil Melnychuk 'PRISON SYSTEM NEEDS TO EXPAND' Don't count on a larger Fraser Regional Correctional Centre within the next year, it's just not in the budget, according to Solicitor General John Les. "I don't have any money in my budget, as we speak, for expansion," Les said Monday. "My first inclination is, let's try and manage that pretrial population better so we can get the numbers down. "There's actually an incentive there to spend as much time as possible in remand." When someone is sentenced, that time can be credited as double towards the actual sentence. Les visited Maple Ridge council Monday to give an update. But it's possible Fraser Regional could grow in the future as a way of relieving the population pressures in the branch. Les said the ministry is talking about expansion somewhere in the system because of the high number of inmates who have to share cells. Currently, 468 inmates are doing time in the institution that was built with a capacity for 300. In 2000-01, Fraser Regional's population stood at 293. About 75 per cent of those inmates, as in the rest of the B.C. Corrections Branch, are double bunked. That's an increase from a province-wide double bunking rate of 36 per cent in the late 1990s, according to Bruce Bannerman, spokesman with the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. Les told council the education ministry is developing crystal meth awareness materials which will be introduced into the curriculum as part of the career and personal planning course. But Coun. Judy Dueck told Les she disagreed with focusing solely on crystal meth, saying other drugs can't be ignored. "There is no other drug like crystal meth," Les replied. One dose of the drug can be fatal. The ministry's also in the process of implementing its civil forfeiture program, in which the government will go to civil court to seize property from people involved in criminal activity. The onus is thus on people to prove their property was legally obtained. Maple Ridge Mission MLA Randy Hawes, also at the meeting, wanted the provincial government to work with the Canada Revenue Agency to focus on those involved with crime. "I think we need to be bringing these people down in a very visible way," Hawes said. "It worked with Capone," added Mayor Gordy Robson. A community court pilot program has been launched. In it, if a drug addict pleads guilty, various ministries step in to provide help to break the crime cycle. Les added that the government is working on increasing resources and the number of treatment beds for crystal meth addicts. "We think we've made some progress," he said. Robson said he was happy with Les's commitment to honouring previous commitments to the community from Fraser Regional to minimize impact, such as maintaining an auto dialer to notify nearby residents if there's an escape. Robson also said the solicitor general said an alternative method of returning released inmates to the places where they were convicted will be found, instead of dropping them off at Haney bus loop. Robson said 15 per cent of the people on Maple Ridge streets are former inmates from Fraser Regional. "What you have said today relieves all the concerns I have had and we look forward to your expansion plans." However, RCMP said last year there are no numbers that show released prisoners are causing crime, nor are there any complaints about former inmates. Prison population down Despite all the double bunking, B.C.'s provincial prison population is smaller now than it was five years ago. The current average prison population in the B.C. Corrections Branch is 2,412. That's below the average count of 2,485 in 2000-2001, although that was the year several illegal Chinese migrants were being held in provincial jails on immigration matters, said spokesman Bruce Bannerman. While the prison population has remained relatively stable, the government has been jamming inmates into fewer facilities, increasing the number of inmates who have to share cells. Ten provincial jails have closed in B.C. since 2002. That has raised the rate of double bunking to 75 per cent across the province. One part of the prison population that has been growing is the number of inmates on remand, awaiting trial or in the middle of court proceedings. Delays in court scheduling can increase the time an inmate spends behind bars awaiting trial. Bannerman said trials are taking longer as well, increasing the amount of remand time. But Solicitor General John Les says the system is managing despite the overcrowding, adding he's not aware of any behaviour or security issues as a result of double bunking. Alouette Correctional Centre for Women also added 32 more beds earlier this year. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman