Hull jail's policy to isolate inmates with mental health issues could be 'catastrophic'

Mental health issues and the presence of rival gang members in the overcrowded Hull jail in Gatineau, Que., are behind an explosion in the frequency inmates are put in solitary confinement, according to the head of the union that represents provincial correctional workers.

But Quebec's Ministry of Public Safety said one of the main reasons inmates are being isolated more often is as a punishment for breaking a new jail smoking ban.

After three years with fewer than 300 cases, the number of times inmates were isolated spiked to 873 in the 2014/15 fiscal year, according to data from Quebec's Ministry of Public Safety, acquired by Radio-Canadathrough an access to information request. The most recent data available, from the 2015/16 fiscal year, shows 628 cases.

Jean-Claude Bernheim, a professor of criminology at l'Universit de Saint-Boniface in Winnipeg, said isolation can have devastating psychological and physical effects on inmates, leading to self-mutilation and suicide.

He emphasized that isolation should "absolutely not" be used as a quick fix for an inmate with mental health issues.

"If someone has a mental health issue, it's the government's obligation to treat them. We know that solitary confinement can be catastrophic for people with mental health issues. It can exacerbate the health issue," he said.

Justin Pich, an associate professor criminology, said putting inmates with mental health issues in solitary confinement is "absolutely the worst possible thing" for their well-being. More support services in communities could help prevent people with mental health issues from ending up in jail in the first place, he said.

Pich added that evidence shows solitary confinement is "inhumane, unjust, damaging and counterproductive," and that should be the basis to change isolation policies in prisons and jails in Canada.

'Isolation is our last tool'

Mathieu Lavoie, the head of the union for Quebec'scorrectional workers,said the number of mental health cases in jail has been increasing for more than a decade in Quebec but that resources to support those vulnerable inmates have not followed. At the same time, those inmates can become targets of gang members and may be forced to give up prescribed medications to sell in the jail's black market, he said.

"These are people who, when they don't take their medications, can fall into decompensation and become a risk to jail staff and other inmates," he said in French. "To ensure their safety we have to isolate them more frequently."

Lavoie said rival gang members are also being put in isolation as a disciplinary move that can prevent flare ups that can put other inmates and staff members at risk.

"Isolation is our last tool to maintain security in our facilities," he said. "We've been decrying the lack of space overpopulation for many years, more than a decade. This is where we're at: isolation to can maintain the safety of our facilities, inmates and staff."

No one from the Ministry of Public Safety was available for an interview but said in a statement that the average number of days inmates at the Hull jail were kept in isolation was down to two days in 2014/15.

The ministry added that the number of cases of isolation increased at other Quebec institutions, as well, due to an overall increase in the number of inmates coupled witha smoking ban that began in February 2014.

The ministry said inmates are being sent to isolation as a punishment for possessing contraband tobacco, exchanging nicotine patches and smoking things that imitate tobacco, like tea.