In Ontario Corrections it isn't just the Correctional Officers (CO) who face issues, it includes Probation and Parole Officers, Institutional Health Care, Cooks, Records Clerks, Rehabilitation Officers, Classification Officers, and Maintenance staff. We are a big family and those who work beside me are just as important as myself. Each of these areas face their own issues. Issues that are growing and not being taken seriously. My entry today is to speak for them and the issues I know they deal with.
When you work as a Probation and Parole Officer (PPO) your responsibilities have become endless. You've gone to school and earned a degree and are now thrown into the justice system to assist with those offenders who have been released into the public by court ordered probation or parole. You assess risk, meet with those offenders and stay on top of things to make sure all offenders are properly supervised. I know there is way more to it and if you want a more in depth look at it then check out this blog, Probation and Parole Officers.
However this profession certainly has its issues that are being ignored by the Government. The workload has become so horrible there isn't enough time in a day to complete all your work and offenders go longer without assessments. There was a petition read in Queen's Park to cap caseloads and once again this Government ignores it. Health and Safety concerns are a major issue, when a dangerous offender walks into an office or a PPO does a home visit, they are only equipped with a radio and a pen. This is scary. How can an Employer think its alright to put their staff in danger without providing the proper tools and training to assist them. These are just a few of the many issues that face a profession that like Correctional Officers, sometimes gets forgotten in the Justice system. Without the PPOs the public is definitely in more danger.
Now to discuss my Sisters and Brothers who work beside me, delivering medication and providing health care to the inmates inside our Institutions. Picture this, an offender is arrested for violent behaviour he committed while attempting to feed his addiction to meds. Now he is sitting in a nursing office demanding he receive his medication, but the health care staff has to refuse him due to the fact it is an addiction not a need. Do you think that situation can become volatile? It definitely does and I have witnessed offenders becoming very aggressive because of it. Yes a CO is present but not close enough, due to confidentiality, that they would stop an initial attack. This puts our health care staff in many precarious positions. They are also the ones providing health care to those who area assaulted, those who have a medical emergency, those who self harm and all offenders with general illness. Many Institutions do not have a doctor on staff so Nurses are the end of the line health care before an offender needs to be sent out to a hospital. When there is any sort of disturbence and COs are wearing protective non puncture vests, our health care staff are not given the same protection yet are still required to deal with medical issues. How can this not be dealt with by our Government? Putting lives at risk when there are easy fixes is a negligent act that needs to be dealt with. There are many more duties and many more issues that our Institutional Health Care deal with but these are the ones I wanted to discuss. Every nurse that works within the walls of our Provincial Institutions deserves the utmost respect and should be compensated accordingly.
Each and every job classification in our Correctional system is important. If one area has an issue, that can cause repercussions through out the system. Health and Safety of all involved in our Justice system needs to be a priority. One classification should never have more protections then the others. No matter if its the Records clerk filing paperwork or the Maintenance man changing burnt out lightbulbs, the truth is without everyone doing their jobs, with the proper protections, we are all at risk. I just wish the Government gave every individual working in this field the proper training and tools to deliver a safe environment for everyone.
TO ALL THOSE WORKING IN THE CORRECTIONS DIVISION INSIDE THE WALLS OR IN THE COMMUNITY, I SALUTE YOU FOR YOUR BRAVERY AND DEDICATION TO THE JOB!!
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