Corrections in British Columbia Mason, McMechan and Angellen Pre-Confederation to the Millennium Edited by Brian Mason Colin J. McMechan Catherine M. Angellen DVD video introduction to B.C. Corrections inside! Corrections in British Columbia: Pre-Confederation to Millennium © 2003, Justice Institute of British Columbia, Corrections & Community Justice Division. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Edited by Brian Mason, Colin J. McMechan and Catherine M. Angellen Book design by Jim Bisakowski of Desktop Publishing Ltd. Cover image of Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre, Jim Bisakowski (2003) Requests for permission to make copies of any part of this work should be directed to the publisher. Additional copies of the work may be obtained from the publisher: Corrections & Community Justice Division Justice Institute of British Columbia 715 McBride Boulevard New Westminster, British Columbia V3L 5T4 Phone: 604-528-5531 Fax: 604-528-5549 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.jibc.bc.ca Printed in Canada 090807060504 23456 Publisher’s note: Portions of this work first appeared in Conflict, Care and Control: The History of the British Columbia Corrections Branch, 1848-1988. Doherty, Diana, 1960- . Simon Fraser University, Institute for Studies in Criminal Justice Policy, 1991. National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: Corrections in British Columbia : pre-Confederation to the millennium “Edited by Brian Mason, Colin J. McMechan and Catherine M. Angellen.”—P. Previously published: Doherty, Diana, 1960- . Conflict, care and control: the history of the British Columbia Corrections Branch, 1848-1988. Simon Fraser University, Institute for Studies in Criminal Justice Policy, 1991. ISBN 0-7726-5037-3 1. British Columbia. Corrections Branch - History. 2. Corrections - British Columbia - History. I. Mason, Brian, 1949- . II. McMechan, Colin J., 1963- . III. Angellen, Catherine M., 1950- . IV. Doherty, Diana, 1960- . Conflict, care and control: the history of the British Columbia Corrections Branch, 1848-1988. V. Justice Institute of British Columbia. Corrections & Community Justice Division. HV8395.C67 2004 364.6’09711 C2003-960191-9 iii iv Corrections in British Columbia Contents Acknowledgments ....................................ix Chapter 1 Era of Colonial Rule (1849-1870) ...........................1 Vancouver Island—The colony ...........................1 B.C.—The colony ...................................6 Convict labour ....................................9 Prison conditions ..................................10 Chapter 2 Era of Punishment (1871-1949) . .........................15 Confederation . ..................................15 The Auburn system .................................16 Growth and accountability in prisons ........................17 Chain gangs and prisoners at work .........................17 The “proper management of Gaols” ........................18 First Prisons Report, 1879 ..............................20 Construction boom in prisons and lockups .....................23 Prison discipline for staff ..............................26 Reformatory prisons and juvenile offenders ....................27 Standards of practice ................................28 Discipline and punishment .............................31 Industrial schools ..................................33 Overcrowding and other prison troubles ......................36 Expansion and change: Oakalla and other initiatives ................37 The first warden at Oakalla .............................38 Private agencies and experimental programs ....................43 Probation ......................................49 Reviving the Borstal program ............................50 Culmination of an era ................................53 Chapter 3 Era of Rehabilitation (1950-1969) . .........................57 The British Columbia Gaol Commission ......................58 Changes in organizational structure .........................60 Specialized programs ................................61 First woman at Young Offenders Unit (YOU) ...................62 First forestry camps .................................62 v Staff training .....................................64 Riot at Oakalla and restructuring . .........................65 Tragedy strikes warden at Prince George Gaol ...................71 Staff development ..................................73 Forestry camps expand ...............................73 Haney Correctional Institution . .........................79 Growth and diversification .............................83 Classification system .................................86 Reality therapy and program evaluation .......................90 The beginning of regionalization . .........................92 Growing to meet challenges .............................93 Psychodrama at Haney Correctional Institution ..................100 Pre-job training and Training Academy ......................101 The “new” inmate—changing criminality in the 1960s ..............102 Expansion and specialization ...........................103 Summing up the accomplishments .........................108 Chapter 4 Era of Reintegration (1970-1979) ..........................109 Ouimet Report ...................................109 Ideals of reintegration ...............................110 Dave Barrett elected ................................111 NDP government reforms corrections ......................111 British Columbia Task Force on Corrections—1972 . .............112 New leaders within the bureaucracy ........................113 Community-based corrections ...........................114 Acceptance of reintegration philosophy ......................117 Case management principles ............................120 Definite/indeterminate sentence declared inoperative ..............121 Federal-Provincial Ministerial Conference—1973 .................123 Temporary absence program ............................124 Community correctional centres ..........................124 Community service work ..............................126 Youth and corrections ...............................128 1974—A year of transition .............................130 “Nothing works” controversy ...........................130 Lay magistrates and the Probation Service .....................131 Family court services become part of Corrections Branch ............132 Collective bargaining ................................134 Government change and continuing reorganization ................135 Developing regional administration ........................137 vi Corrections in British Columbia Chapter 5 Era of Reparation (1980-1989) ...........................140 Ab Thorvaldson—moving through time ......................140 Bernard Robinson appointed commissioner ....................141 Juggling needs and concerns ............................141 Counter Attack ...................................142 Challenges with juvenile offenders .........................143 Corrections Amendment Act ...........................144 Volunteer programs for youth ...........................145 Rediscovery and other programs for youth ....................145 Deciding jurisdiction for parole ..........................148 B.C. Parole Board .................................149 Facilities and sentence administration .......................149 Standards of practice ................................151 Staff development and the Justice Institute ....................152 The Proudfoot Commission and female offenders ................153 Commitment to institutions ............................156 Serving communities in northern B.C. .......................161 Reparation and community service ........................164 Promoting the reparation ideal ...........................165 Recognizing the contributions of personnel ....................167 Bernard Robinson retires ..............................168 Chapter 6 The Era of Risk Management (1990-1997) .....................170 Overview ......................................170 Changing face of offenders ............................172 Replacing and upgrading adult secure institutions .................179 Impact of Task Force on Federally Sentenced Women in B.C. ...........187 Population surges in institutions ..........................189 Promoting health of inmates ............................191 Inmate work programs ...............................195 Managing community caseloads ..........................198 Surge in community caseloads ............................198 Youth corrections .................................203 Introduction of risk/needs assessment ......................212 Offender programs .................................213 Victim notification and participation in the justice system ............218 Developments in family justice services ......................219 Staff training and recruitment ...........................222 vii Chapter 7 The Era of Directing Change (1997-2001) .....................229 Corrections Branch reorganization .........................229 Strategic Planning and Corporate Programs Division ...............236 Adult Custody Division ..............................243 Community Corrections Division .........................256 Family Justice Services Division ..........................259 Conclusion .....................................265