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"Building prisons should be a thing of the past": criminologist
By Arun Budhathoki, NB Media Co-op
November 4, 2022
FREDERICTON / UNCEDED WOLASTOQIYIK TERRITORY – The New Brunswick government is facing criticisms over its decision to build a new $32 million prison in the Fredericton region. Two experts say that the new prison will not help the province bring down crime.
After the Throne Speech that spoke of high crime rates, the Telegraph-Journal’s Andrew Waugh got Justice and Public Safety Minister Kris Austin to admit that the crime claims are based on anecdotes.''
In an email statement to the NB Media Co-op, a Department of Justice and Public Safety spokesperson pointed out that the department “considered the existing network of correctional facilities, their capacity, and their locations when deciding to build a new facility in the Fredericton region.”
The spokesperson sent a data table showing the average monthly capacity counts for the five provincial correctional facilities. “As of yesterday, Nov. 2, there were 511 adult men in custody, while the capacity is 470. This means an over capacity of 41,” said Judy Désalliers for the department.
“The adult male correctional centers are operating at full or over capacity. Operating at or near capacity is not optimal for the health and safety of correctional officers or inmates as it can impact safe population management practices, which a new facility will help alleviate,” said Désalliers.
The spokesperson also told the NB Media Co-op that the reason for choosing Fredericton for the new prison was to “help relieve capacity pressure on other correctional centers, particularly the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre.”
“Building prisons should be a thing of the past”: criminologist Justin Piché
Criminologist Justin Piché argues that the New Brunswick government should spend the $32 million it has allocated to the Fredericton prison on education and early intervention if it wants to make communities safer.
“You also need to look at how you can better address people living with drug use issues and look at increasing harm reduction in drug treatment capacity, and also increasing mental health supports. And I think if you do that, you would have significantly fewer people behind bars. And if you tackle homelessness, you’ll help stop that cycle of people going from homelessness to prisons,” said Piché, Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology and Director of the Carceral Studies Research Collective at the University of Ottawa, in an interview with the NB Media Co-op.
Piché argues that building a new prison is a flawed approach at making communities safer. “Building prisons should be a thing of the past,” said Piché.
Arun Budhathoki is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Stations and Users (CACTUS).
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