Manitoba sending many inmates out 'on their own' as they leave custody, auditor general says

The province is leaving many inmates "on their own" and without adequate support when returning back to the community, Manitoba's auditor general says. 

A new report from the Office of the Auditor General of Manitoba says the provincial government needs to do more to help prepare inmates in its institutions for release, in order to reduce recidivism and improve public safety.

The report includes 10 recommendations, including changes to the Correctional Services Division's case-management policy, interventions and programming, and increased communication and connection-making with community support organizations.

Provincial institutions hold people who have received a sentence less than two years, individuals who are in custody on remand — accused people who have not been convicted of an offence and are awaiting trial or other legal proceedings — and those awaiting sentencing. 

With an average sentence of less than two months, the auditor general says custody release plans should begin as soon as the individual arrives. 

"The time that an individual spends in provincial custody is relatively brief, but it is an important window for corrections to get them the help they need," Auditor General Tyson Shtykalo told CBC Manitoba Friday. 

The number of people in custody continues to grow, provincial data shows, but the auditor general says the vast majority — about 75 per cent — are on remand. 

Remanded inmates are not receiving formal assessments to help them prepare for release, as the current case-management system focuses on sentenced inmates, the report says. 

Every inmate received a custody-release plan over the auditor's assessment period, the report says. But the plans were frequently delayed and, especially in the cases of those released without probation, did not include adequate connections to community resources, such as housing and health-care support. 

"Once they are released from custody, they are on their own," said Shtykalo. 

Indigenous people continue to be vastly overrepresented in provincial jails. About 82 per cent of the inmate population is First Nations or Métis, despite making up 18 per cent of the overall population in Manitoba, according to the report. 

Kendell Joiner is the chief executive pathfinder with Native Clan Organization, a Winnipeg-based non-profit that provides cultural-based support and advocacy for Indigenous people who have been involved with the justice system. 

"Prisons and jails aren't equipped to actually help people heal," he said, adding trauma is often at the root of crime. "They're not built to facilitate healing." 

That healing is best done within the community, Joiner said, with help from support organizations that address the impact that colonization and intergenerational trauma has on Indigenous people who have come into contact with the justice system. 

"The best route would be to connect with community partners whose primary focus is healing, and not necessarily reducing recidivism based off a number," Joiner said. 

"We're just going to have these same issues if the focus isn't healing." 

Manitoba Justice largely agrees with all 10 recommendations in the auditor general's report, according to department responses included in the report. 

"There's a lot of work that's already underway with regards to the specific recommendations and there's a lot more that we're committed to undertaking," Justice Minister Matt Wiebe told reporters outside the Legislature in Winnipeg on Wednesday.

"I was very pleased to see they are in agreement with all of our recommendations," Shtykalo said. 

"I'm hoping that by issuing this report, we are shedding a little bit of a light on some of the things that corrections can work on to address some of the shortfalls," Shtykalo said. 

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