192 Ontario jail deaths call for urgent action on staffing and drug screening: landmark report
There were 192 inmate deaths in Ontario jails in just eight years, almost all of which were preventable.
That's one of the grim findings from a new report by an expert panel from the Ontario Chief Coroner's office in the most thorough analysis of in-custody deaths in years.
With very rare exception, almost every life lost in our sample could be deemed a preventable death," concludes the report, released Tuesday under the title: An Obligation to Prevent." In it, the panel cites especially the impact of low staffing levels in Ontario's 25 correctional facilities, finding that inadequate staffing was a factor in the jails' inability to manage the rise in deaths.
In 2014, 19 persons died while in custody in Ontario facilities, the report states. In 2021, that number had risen to 46.
The frequency of lockdowns and general staffing deficiencies present ongoing barriers to effective care, humane conditions, meaningful programs and the connections to family that are all essential to well-being for those in custody," the panel states, noting especially that staffing - not inmate behaviour - was behind the vast majority of jail lockdowns.
The report also outlines how most of the nearly 200 provincial inmates who died between 2014 and 2021 were awaiting trial and legally innocent.
On Tuesday, the brother of a man who died soon after he was taken to provincial custody praised the efforts of the coroner's office, but said it's time to set up a permanent external investigator to oversee Ontario's jails.
Why can we not have an external body that oversees corrections, with annual reports?" Yusuf Faqiri said in a telephone interview.
His brother Soleiman Faqiri died in the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay in 2016 after being restrained by correctional officers during a mental health crisis.
Our loved ones are given to us in a body bag," Faqiri said.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General thanked the authors of the report for its important insights" and said improvements are on the way.
We must do everything possible to prevent deaths in custody, and we are focused on building a better, safer, and healthier corrections system in Ontario," spokesperson Andrew Morrison said in an email.
The ministry will be taking time to review all of the recommendations and respond to the Chief Coroner within the requested six months," he said.
On any given day, less than a quarter of inmates in Ontario jails are serving a sentence after being found guilty of a crime. More than two-thirds of provincial inmates are instead on remand," generally meaning they have not been convicted of a crime but have been denied bail and are awaiting trial. (The federal prison system houses any inmates serving sentences longer than two years.)
In recent years, police leaders and politicians have criticized the justice system for being too quick to release individuals accused of violent crimes, arguing that more accused persons should be sent to jail before trial.
Drug overdoses account for the largest share of inmate deaths - 74, or 40 per cent - with natural deaths accounting for 28 per cent and suicides at 24 per cent. Six deaths in the study period were homicides.
Staffing was a key factor in many deaths, the panel states, noting, it is not uncommon for persons-in-custody to experience longer wait times to see health care providers, delays in prescription medication access while awaiting assessment, and an overall level of deteriorating care for people in custody due to large staff caseloads."
Low staffing levels are also behind by far the vast majority of the lockdowns that have plagued the jail system for many years. On average over the eight-year period, 82 per cent of all lockdowns were blamed on staff shortages. In 2021, that number was over 90 per cent; inmate behaviour accounted for less than one per cent of that year's lockdowns.
The report highlights that the drugs behind the dozens of overdose deaths continue to enter facilities at an alarming pace, transported by persons entering custody, visitors, lawyers and other visiting professionals, drones and by corrupt or compromised staff."
Although body scanners and other search methods are in use, the panel questioned how such measures can be effective if most staff do not have to be scanned before coming to work - The panel was shocked to discover that even with the evident frequency of overdose deaths, staff were still exempt from scanning."
Drug screening must surely be expanded to all staff to the extent possible."
In interviews with correctional officers, the panel found a work environment plagued by absenteeism, low morale, a competitive drive to avoid blame, a severely restricted ability to perform the most important and most career-gratifying aspects of the job, and a prevailing dark cloud of mistrust."
The report also highlights a backlog in inquests, which are mandatory upon the death of a person in custody, with some exceptions in the case of natural deaths.
The report anonymously quotes the loved one of an inmate: Some of Canada's worst criminals are still alive in prison after 30 years. Our son acted out from a drug problem, and he was deceased within 24 hours of being remanded to your facility. We still don't know how or why he died."
Said the parents of another inmate: Everyone along the chain knew our daughter had expressed suicidal intentions right up to her transfer and admission. Why was she left alone and unwatched in a cell that included the ready means to end her own life?"
Criminologist Justin Piche reacted to the report by calling on authorities to reallocate funds toward community support and prevention.
Imprisonment injures, maims, and kills," Piche said in an email. It is proven to be the least effective and most costly approach to enhancing community well-being and safety ... Ontario needs to be building communities, not cages."
Peter Edwards is a Toronto-based reporter primarily covering crime for the Star. Reach him via email: pedwards@thestar.ca