The Matsqui Institution, a medium-security federal men's prison, in Abbotsford, B.C., in October, 2017.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The Correctional Service of Canada is cutting back on dedicated canine units tied to specific federal prisons in favour of a more regional approach as part of its contribution to Ottawa’s spending review.
The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers says it was recently informed of the plan in a phone call with Anne Kelly, the CSC Commissioner.
A spokesperson for the department confirmed it is shifting its Detector Dog Teams to a regional model as part of its budget commitment to find $132.2-million in savings over three years. The spokesperson declined to say how much would be saved from the specific measure or how many dog teams would be phased out.
In an interview, Jake Suelzle, the union’s regional president for the Prairies, said they were told there would be cuts to the current contingent of 80 dogs and their handlers, which he said is already a low figure in light of about 20 vacancies. He also said they were told there will be reductions to perimeter security at federal prisons.
“Their announcement is that there will be no new canines added, and that positions lost through attrition will just not be refilled or backfilled,” he said.
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Mr. Suelzle said a dog and its handler have historically been tied to a specific prison, but that will now shift to a regional model.
He also said that with the increasing use of drones by criminals to drop drugs into prison yards, prison security will have less support from canine units that can identify the illicit packages.
“We have a huge problem with contraband introduction in the institutions,” he said, adding that the typical “throw over” has moved away from tobacco and marijuana in favour of meth and fentanyl.
“That’s where the canines play a huge role,” he said. “When packages are dropped into the yard areas, into the rec areas, into common outside areas, we use our dogs to search those areas prior to having the inmates gain access to them.”
CSC spokesperson Esther Mailhot said in an e-mailed statement that while there will be changes to the Detector Dog Teams (DDTs), “the program will continue to exist.”
She said CSC will focus resources where they are most needed to prevent contraband from entering the institutions.
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“Building on the strong results achieved by regionally centralized DDTs within the program, this model will now be expanded to all DDTs. Under this approach, DDTs will be organized into regional teams and report directly to Regional Headquarters. They will be deployed to different sites as required, based on risk, intelligence, and operational needs,” she said.
“DDTs will continue to be based out of institutions, maintaining a strong on‑site presence.”
The statement said CSC will keep investing in gathering intelligence to disrupt drone networks and reduce contraband entering prisons. It also confirmed that there will be cuts to the security teams, called mobile patrol posts, that guard the perimeters of prisons.
“Similarly, while mobile patrol posts remain an important component of our security approach, improvements in contraband strategies and technology have been made to support an effective response to threats even with fewer mobile patrol deployment levels,” she said, listing drones, body scanners and radiofrequency jammers as examples of new technology being used.
“We are confident that with technological innovations, along with the ability of our front-line officers, CSC will continue to detect and prevent the entry of contraband,” she said.
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The government announced last week that Ms. Kelly will be retiring as Commissioner of Corrections. The new commissioner will be Talal Dakalbab, who is being promoted from his position as senior assistant deputy minister of the Crime Prevention Branch at Public Safety Canada.
A 2017 internal audit of the detector dog program said its cost at that time was just more than $10-million and involved 88 active canine teams.
“The program plays an important role in assisting the Service to prevent the presence of illegal substances within its institutions,” the internal audit said.
The report said the program began as a pilot project in 2000.
The audit team interviewed assistant wardens, correctional managers and other leaders and found some concerns.
For example, auditors found some leaders were unaware that the dogs were trained to provide indications that drugs are present beyond a hard sit. They also didn’t know how long a dog could perform tasks before needing a rest.
The report also recommended more oversight of the program.
It added that the dog handlers were a dedicated group of correctional officers who were passionate about their role.
“While observing the dog handlers, we found that most of the handlers were active and busy throughout the time they were being observed,” the report said.