Rise in Prison Gangs Fueling Violence, Drug Trade – Canada – CBC News

The article presented on this paper reveals the problem of gangs and gang related violence in our nation’s institutions. Corrections Canada has seen a 44 per cent jump in gang members in federal prisons in the last five years, to 2,040 in 2012 from 1,421 in 2007, according to the documents obtained under access to information. The correctional service constructed a strategic framework for dealing with gangs in 2006, and implemented its gang management strategy in 2008, aiming to convince inmates to drop their affiliation and limit security risks. Gang numbers have continued to rise, according to one correctional service management document. It raises a number of …show more content…

The federal government has invested $120 million in new technology, hardware and security intelligence officers, but spending meager amounts in programs for education, treatment and harm reduction. “You have a lot of offenders who aren’t institutionally employed, they’re not in vocational programs, they have time on their hands,” Sapers said. “They interact with others; they may be in confined spaces, double-bunked with others – lots of opportunities for gang recruitment, lots of opportunities for illegal and contraband drug exchange. All that is driving the issue.”
I have no doubt that we are taking the wrong approach on how we are dealing with the situation of gangs and violence in Canada’s institutions. Some of the most prominent issues, in my opinion, stem from manipulation, intimidation and corruption. This is something that is mentioned but not discussed in detail in the article, and I believe it should be. The article mentions that one of the solutions adopted to combat the problem is the recruitment of more officers; I personally feel this is not a good idea. Not only is this going to inconveniently cost more money, but the possibility of corruption will be greater with the introduction of more staff. Better training should be emphasized, because I believe a smaller and highly trained staff would be less likely to suffer from corruption. With little or no corruption among prison staff, inmates will find it much more difficult to