B.C. ombudsperson labels youth confinement in jail ‘unsafe,’ calls for changes

VICTORIA — A three-year investigation by British Columbia’s ombudsperson concludes the provincial government’s practice of placing jailed youth in solitary confinement is “unjust and unsafe.”

Jay Chalke, whose office investigates complaints against provincial and local authorities, says this confinement also disproportionately impacts Indigenous youth.

Chalke notes the use of solitary confinement for adults — particularly for prolonged periods of time — has been the subject of litigation, with several court rulings finding the practice is a violation of prisoners’ constitutional rights. Advocates have long argued that the practice meets the United Nations definition of torture. However, the use of forced segregation in youth facilities has not been similarly scrutinized.

“This report shines a light on locked facilities that the public doesn’t ordinarily have a chance to see. So we brought our lamp of scrutiny on what goes on behind the walls,” he says.

B.C. has two youth custody centres in Prince George and Burnaby, and the study found the average duration of confinement increased over a three-year period, including in one case when a youth spent 78 out of 81 days in solitary.

“Youth in custody should not be isolated from other youth in custody except as a last resort, when all other options have failed. And in those cases strict time limits and effective independent oversight is necessary to prevent serious harm,” Chalke says.

“I think that we should all be looking for how we can treat youth in custody in a way that protects society, and rehabilitate them so that when they are released they become productive members of society, — as opposed to having been in custody for a period of time, and having sustained damage to their mental health.”

Chalke says B.C.’s laws should set a maximum of 22 hours that the youth, aged 12 to 17, can be placed in solitary.

The report makes 26 recommendations, ranging from amending B.C.’s Youth Justice Act to providing better care for prisoners with mental health issues, and an end to isolating youth under 16. Chalke says there should be a process whereby confinement can be independently reviewed, and ordered to end.

Indigenous youth in Canada are vastly overrepresented in youth detention nationwide, according to Statistics Canada, In 2018, First Nations, Inuit, and Metis comprised up 8.8 per cent of the youth population, but accounted for 43 per cent of youth in custody.

The report notes the duration of isolation rose and Indigenous youth accounted for more than half of the solitary confinement incidents, and Chalke says Indigenous youth were confined for longer periods.

“Particularly girls and especially Indigenous and racialized girls were separately confined in response to self-injury, and for periods exceeding 72 hours,” he added.

“So we are calling for a number of steps to be taken to support indigenous youth in custody, including access to elders and culturally appropriate programming.”

In response to the report, Children and Family Development Minister Mitzi Dean says B.C. is developing a framework to improve and modernize its youth justice system.

Dean says the ministry accepts the “spirit and intent of the recommendations” and will incorporate them into its youth justice framework.

“Both the child welfare system and the justice system are overly involved in the lives of Indigenous people, children and families. It is part of the damaging colonial legacy that continues to this day – and as part of our commitment to reconciliation, we need to address it head-on,” she says in a statement.

Chalke says he’s encouraged that the ministry has accepted the recommendations but the lack of urgency by the government is concerning.

“It is time to give these issues – and these young people – the priority they need,” Chalke said in a statement.

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