Union official says inmates hurt in riot at Saskatchewan Penitentiary

Visits to the prison in Prince Albert, Sask., were suspended.

“It’s still locked down,” Jeff Campbell, spokesman for the Correctional Service of Canada, said late Wednesday.

“It’s been the scene of a major disturbance, so as I say, we’re locked down in the interests, of course, of safety and security at the institution for the staff and inmates and the general public as well.”

He said to his knowledge, the involved prisoners had been confined to their cells.

“A lockdown takes place when there’s a clear and substantial danger to safety and security at an institution,” Campbell said. “Normal operations are suspended for the moment but they’re going to be resumed as soon as it’s considered safe to do that.”

He said he did not know whether any injuries had been sustained by either prisoners or guards during the incident.

Campbell said he did not know what had sparked the incident but Bloomfield said tensions at the prison had been building “for a short period of time. It escalated today, severely.”

He said the union’s critical incident stress management team had been deployed to Prince Albert to help the guards and other staff, and the union’s employee assistance program will also be made available to those affected.

The prison has been the scene of a number of escapes in recent years. This year, convicted murder Roger Joseph Gillet got out but was recaptured quickly.

In 2015, there were six escapes, though all were recaptured within a couple of weeks.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Union official says inmates hurt in riot at Saskatchewan Penitentiary

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