A new report explains why a Nova Scotia offender was released from jail 12 hours earlier than he was supposed to be.
Among the reasons are a lack of training, human error, and policies and procedures that aren’t as clear as they could be.
Last month, a man serving weekends at the Burnside Correctional Centre in Dartmouth was allowed to leave 12 hours before his scheduled release.
The report explains that a female guard who was learning how to issue prisoner releases was left unsupervised at the time.
“Unfortunately, just prior to the incident occurring, the trainer that was supervising her got called away to another matter to the facility,” Bill Smith, executive director of Nova Scotia Correctional Services, said on Friday.
“So she was left a little bit at odds with having to handle the releases on her own,” he said.
A few weeks prior to the incident, another prisoner was also let out of custody by mistake.
In that case, the report concluded that correctional staff did not confirm the time the offender was to be freed and did not document the release.
“The time was eventually documented, about an hour after the inmate was released. This is when the error was discovered,” said Smith.
The report also suggests release procedures regarding part-time inmates need to be clarified.
“As we speak, there is a re-write of those policies to clearly define the roles and responsibilities when the release is happening of intermittent offenders, and to make sure everyone is clear on what the role is,” Smith said.
The head of the union that represents correctional officers, including jail guards, says that, when resources are tight, mistakes are made.
“Right across the public sector, people are put in positions they shouldn't be in or asked to do duties that are out of their scope,” said NSGEU President Joan Jessome.
Officials are also looking at limiting the number of inmates that can be processed for release at one time.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kelland Sundahl
