A person incarcerated at PEI’s Provincial Correctional Centre (PCC) contacted us to complain that they were not able to access the written set of rules and policies the centre expected offenders to follow.
They felt because they were unaware of the rules and expectations, they were consistently getting in trouble for breaking those rules.
We contacted the PCC and asked about the access offenders have to information on the centre’s rules and expectations. We learned that a document called Guidance for Inmates outlined the rules offenders are expected to follow.
We suggested that copies of this document should be readily available to offenders who request them, and new offenders should be given a copy when entering the centre. PCC agreed to put copies of the documents in all housing units, as well as at staffing stations, so they would be available on request. They also agreed to provide copies to all new offenders entering the facility.
The person also had a concern about how they were given access to legal documentation and disclosures. We learned that PCC’s practice for allowing offenders to review legal documentation or disclosures was unnecessarily personally invasive.
PCC had already identified the practice as a potential issue at the time our office inquired, and new policy instructions were sent out to senior staff at the centre to move away from that practice in favour of a more evidence-based procedure. The new procedure made the former practice a last resort to ensure all documents and information remain secure.
The actions taken by PCC’s management satisfied our fairness concerns, and as a result, we considered the matters resolved and closed our file.
