Manitoba ends practice of sending prisoners directly to jail before 1st court appearance

The Manitoba government is permanently ending a long-standing practice of automatically sending people who have been arrested to jail, before they are seen by a judge or justice of the peace, Justice Minister Cliff Cullen saidon Wednesday.

The province originally suspended direct lockup agreementsin Aprilto avoid spreading COVID-19 in jails, but now the temporary, pandemic-induced decision will stick.

Cullen said Manitoba will now be in line with every other province in Canada, all of which requirepolice to house suspects intheir facilities upon arrest.

"We've saidto all chiefs that we will continue to support them in their efforts, and we will be there to support them financially as well," Cullen told a conference callWednesday, referring to $5 million in new law enforcement funding to pay for facility upgrades.

Before the pandemic, officers in Winnipeg and Brandon could transport people directly to a remand centre in situations involving violent individuals, or when someone accused of a crimeis intoxicated and unable to make informed decisions.

Now, prisoners are only held inprovincial jails after they've beenremanded into custody by a judge or judicial justice of the peace. They will be kept at police headquarters beforehand.

Cops pulled off the street

"In all honesty, it's disappointing," Brandon Police Service Chief Wayne Balcaensaid of the province's decision.

Balcaen saidofficers have been takenoff the streets to look after prisoners locked awayat their headquarters.He wishesthose new duties could be handled by somebody else.

"My preference would be to have police officers doing the work that they're regularly doing."

Brandon police arekeeping prisonersin detention cells without bathrooms, sometimes for periods over 24 hours, he said.

Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smythcalled on the government earlier this week to reverse the new practice, which he suggested was disregarding the respect and dignity of the people they arrest.

He told Monday's police board meeting that prisoners arebeing held for an unreasonable amountof time.

Smyth said the detention cells aren't intended to hold people for hours on end. He described the cells as small rooms with nothing but a concrete bench. There are notoilets, no furniture, no mattresses and no food service.

The crowded rooms have led to fights involving prisoners. Somehave urinated, defecated and vomited in their cells because there are no bathrooms, Smyth said.

More than 100 prisonershave been held for longer than 24 hours, including one individual for 43 hours, he said.

Staff at the facility are facing undue stress, Smyth said,as they escortprisoners for bathroom breaks, for phone calls with lawyers, andsometimes even buying prisoners their food.

The police force declined tocomment Wednesday on the province's announcement.

In a letter to Smyth on Tuesday, Cullen wrote that shifting away from direct lockups, while necessaryat the start of the pandemic, has "long-term merit."

Of the 8,000 people admitted to the Winnipeg Remand Centre per year, almost half of them were ultimately suitable for release, the courts found.

Cullen said the statistics demonstratethe status quo isn't warranted.

"The admission and rapid release of prisoners creates administrative 'churn' and not only impacts the health and safety of correctional staff and inmates but the admission to custody itself is proven to increase the likelihood of reoffending or reinvolvement with the criminal justice system," Cullen's letter said.

The justice minister told reportersWednesday it is "quite interesting" that SmythsaidMonday his concerns regarding long prisoner holdswere falling on deaf ears at the province. Thetwo spoke last week, Cullen said.

Smyth said he took the matter to the police boardbecause he had nowhere else to turn.

Meanwhile, on the growing calls to defundpolice services since the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, Cullen saidWednesday thatwhile municipalities can make their own decisions, he's responsible for public safety.

He saidthe Tory government will continue to devote resources to law enforcement and addressing the root causes of crime.