prison

Iris McNeil was murdered in 1997 by James Shortreed, who was recently denied in his request for temporary absences from William Head Institution in Metchosin, where he has been incarcerated for roughly 25 years. (Photo courtesy of the McNeil family)

Lower Mainland killer denied bid for temporary absences from Vancouver Island prison

Parole board finds James Shortreed’s absence plan insufficient; risk factors not addressed

 

The Mission Correctional Institution in Mission, B.C. is pictured Tuesday, April 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward.

Corrections officers sound alarm after B.C. prison manager promoted amid harassment complaints

Fraser Valley corrections officers say abusive managers face no discipline from CSC

 

Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford. (Abbotsford News file photo)

Hells Angels member dies while serving time in Abbotsford

Alan Knapczyk was at Matsqui Institution on 15-year sentence

 

Pacific Institution in Abbotsford. (Abbotsford News file photo)

Murderer and sexual assailant dies while housed at Pacific Institution in Abbotsford

William Roy Tame was serving indeterminate sentence for 1986 Calgary killing

Pacific Institution in Abbotsford. (Abbotsford News file photo)
A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford. As of Jan. 19, 28 inmates have tested positive. (Abbotsford News file photo)

28 inmates at Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford test positive for COVID-19

All in-person visits are temporarily suspended, says Correctional Service of Canada

A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford. As of Jan. 19, 28 inmates have tested positive. (Abbotsford News file photo)
A shoulder patch on a correctional officer is shown at the Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. The Correctional Service of Canada said it is working to provide timely access to addiction treatment after settling a human rights complaint launched in 2018. THE CANADIAN/Lars Hagberg

Correctional Service settles human rights case for prisoners addicted to opioids

Settlement agreement was reached last month

A shoulder patch on a correctional officer is shown at the Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. The Correctional Service of Canada said it is working to provide timely access to addiction treatment after settling a human rights complaint launched in 2018. THE CANADIAN/Lars Hagberg
Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford (Abbotsford News file photo)

Crystal meth worth $183K located at Abbotsford prison

Package containing the drugs seized Oct. 11 from Matsqui Institution

Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford (Abbotsford News file photo)
The Mission Correctional Institution in Mission, B.C. pictured Tuesday, April 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward.

Nearly 50 Mission Institution inmates suing Attorney General of Canada over alleged privacy breach

Prisoners claim drug prescriptions were shared across prison, putting a target on their backs

The Mission Correctional Institution in Mission, B.C. pictured Tuesday, April 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward.
Flags flown at half mast out front of Fraser Regional Correctional Centre for slain corrections officer Bikramdeep Randhawa. (Neil Corbett/ The News)

Public vigil and flying flags at half mast done to honour slain prison guard

Maple Ridge corrections officer Bikramdeep Randhawa, 29, is being remembered in a number of ways

Flags flown at half mast out front of Fraser Regional Correctional Centre for slain corrections officer Bikramdeep Randhawa. (Neil Corbett/ The News)
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 10, 2009, file photo, former financier Bernie Madoff exits federal court in Manhattan, in New York. Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, has died in prison, a person familiar with the matter tells The Associated Press(AP Photo/David Karp, File)

Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff dies in prison: AP source

Madoff admitted swindling thousands of clients out of billions of dollars in investments over decades

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 10, 2009, file photo, former financier Bernie Madoff exits federal court in Manhattan, in New York. Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, has died in prison, a person familiar with the matter tells The Associated Press(AP Photo/David Karp, File)
Computer memory cards are shown on display in a retail store in Cranberry Township, Pa., on Thursday, May 9, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Keith Srakocic

Federal Court orders B.C. prison to return PlayStation game card to inmate

Fischer is currently serving a life term for the 1999 murder of 16-year-old Darci Drefko of Merritt, B.C.

Computer memory cards are shown on display in a retail store in Cranberry Township, Pa., on Thursday, May 9, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Keith Srakocic
Francesca Paceri, a registered pharmacist technician, carefully fills a needle with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine at a clinic in Toronto on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. A director at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association believes provinces should set targets for vaccinating inmates in provincial jails — something most jurisdictions have yet to do. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Some provinces yet to say when jail inmates to be vaccinated against COVID-19

Experts say that inmates are in a vulnerable situation when it comes to the pandemic

Francesca Paceri, a registered pharmacist technician, carefully fills a needle with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine at a clinic in Toronto on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. A director at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association believes provinces should set targets for vaccinating inmates in provincial jails — something most jurisdictions have yet to do. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
A female prisoner sent Langford police officers a thank-you card after she spent days in their custody. (Twitter/West Shore RCMP)

Woman gives Victoria-area jail 4.5-star review in handwritten card to police after arrest

‘We don’t often get thank you cards from people who stay with us, but this was sure nice to see’: RCMP

A female prisoner sent Langford police officers a thank-you card after she spent days in their custody. (Twitter/West Shore RCMP)
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal dismissed the complaint of a former Okanagan Correction Centre inmate Dec. 3, 2020 regarding his denial of kosher meals while incarcerated. (Dustin Godfrey/Western News file)

Human Rights Tribunal dismisses kosher meal complaint from Okanagan inmate

Tribunal determines the inmate failed to provide any evidence he should be served kosher meals

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal dismissed the complaint of a former Okanagan Correction Centre inmate Dec. 3, 2020 regarding his denial of kosher meals while incarcerated. (Dustin Godfrey/Western News file)
A bin of COVID-19 syringes for the first round of health-care workers to be vaccinated at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is seen in Albuquerque, N.M., on Dec. 16, 2020. Advocates say inmates should have speedy access to the COVID-19 vaccine, given how susceptible prisons and jails have been to outbreaks and how prevalent chronic disease is in that population. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-HO, UNM Health

‘Grave risk:’ Advocates say inmates should get speedy access to COVID-19 vaccine

There have been several outbreaks in provincially run jails

A bin of COVID-19 syringes for the first round of health-care workers to be vaccinated at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is seen in Albuquerque, N.M., on Dec. 16, 2020. Advocates say inmates should have speedy access to the COVID-19 vaccine, given how susceptible prisons and jails have been to outbreaks and how prevalent chronic disease is in that population. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-HO, UNM Health
The Edmonton Institution for Women in Edmonton is shown on Wednesday Nov. 11, 2020. The Correctional Service of Canada says five inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 in Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Advocate says second COVID-19 wave has inmates locked down in ‘atrocious’ conditions

Contact tracing is underway and testing is being offered at the three federal institutions affected

The Edmonton Institution for Women in Edmonton is shown on Wednesday Nov. 11, 2020. The Correctional Service of Canada says five inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 in Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Adam Laboucan, pictured being escorted outside court in B.C. on June 18, 1999, was 17 when he was handed an indeterminate prison sentence for sexually assaulting a three-month-old boy in Quesnel. Laboucan now identifies as female and has changed her name to Tara Desousa. (Ross Mitchell/Quesnel Cariboo Observer)

Canada’s youngest dangerous offender from B.C. denied parole; to be reviewed in 2021

Tara Desousa, then named Adam Laboucan, was 15 years old when she assaulted an infant in Quesnel

Adam Laboucan, pictured being escorted outside court in B.C. on June 18, 1999, was 17 when he was handed an indeterminate prison sentence for sexually assaulting a three-month-old boy in Quesnel. Laboucan now identifies as female and has changed her name to Tara Desousa. (Ross Mitchell/Quesnel Cariboo Observer)
Sen. Kim Pate is shown in Toronto in an October 15, 2013, file photo. The parliamentary budget office says a proposed law that would give judges discretion on whether to apply a lesser sentence for murder could save the federal government $8.3 million per year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel

Judicial discretion for mandatory minimum sentences for murder would save $8.3M: PBO

The result would be fewer people in long-term custody at federal correctional institutions, experts say

Sen. Kim Pate is shown in Toronto in an October 15, 2013, file photo. The parliamentary budget office says a proposed law that would give judges discretion on whether to apply a lesser sentence for murder could save the federal government $8.3 million per year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel
Federal Correctional Investigator Ivan Zinger addresses a news conference discussing his latest report, Tuesday, February 18, 2020 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Corrections watchdog urges moratorium on doctor-assisted deaths in Canadian prisons

Federal correctional investigator Ivan Zinger says there are three known cases of doctor-assisted death in federal prisons

Federal Correctional Investigator Ivan Zinger addresses a news conference discussing his latest report, Tuesday, February 18, 2020 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Mission Institution. Kevin Mills / Mission Record

Staff shortages plague Mission Institution following recovery from COVID-19 outbreak

Guards at 60% of workforce; inmates suffer daily with lockdown, mental health issues

Mission Institution. Kevin Mills / Mission Record