Canteen
The prison store, or commissary where inmates can purchase approved items, such as snacks, Tylenol, and writing supplies.
He said his friend gave him the Pepsi bottle during the last canteen distribution.
Cellie
Cellmate. Also called bunked.
He added that the fight took place due to them “butting heads” over a period of time. He has since resolved the issue with his cellie… He took responsibility for his behaviour and stated that in the future he would request a cell change, rather than engage in a fight.
Inmate Pradesh threatened to harm staff if double bunked.
Check in
An inmate voluntarily going into protective custody or segregation out of safety concerns.
Inmate Levin said that this is a protective custody unit and he expressed concern with moving there because to check in would taint his character and would prevent him from being accepted on a different unit in the future. He explained that he believed he was being punished by being reclassified and that he has changed a lot and has improved his behaviour significantly from when he first entered custody. He emphasized his concern with this classification decision.
Check off the unit
An inmate voluntarily leaving a living unit by completing a request form, often the result of a safety concern.
He knew that if he assaulted inmate Miller he would be removed from the unit, and said he didn’t believe in completing a request form and so he took it upon himself. He reiterated that he did it for his own safety.
Earlier in the hearing, inmate Kam testified that he assaulted inmate Jack in order to check himself off the unit. He said he felt unsafe and was receiving threats to his safety and had been asking prison staff to remove him from the unit.
He said he knew this was coming. He had requested to be moved, but in the meantime kept on the living unit while an alternate placement option was being canvassed by classification.
Inmate Martens said he tried for a few days to stay away from inmate Kiel because he carries a shank on him. He also said he completed a request form on Nov. 8 wanting to move units, but his placement request was denied. He has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from being held captive for 48 days and asked that I impose segregation as a last resort because it aggravates his mental health.
He had no intention of assaulting unit officer Tom, rather he acted in the way he did so that he could be removed from the unit and placed in segregation. He added that he is experiencing “issues emotionally from the streets” and “they [peers on the unit] know him from outside.”
Client logs (c-logs)
An inmate’s internal institutional file documented regularly by prison staff.
Client log entries on May 2 by a Correctional Supervisor (C/S) read that inmate Capella had been calling inmate Steven a “meth head” prior to the incident, and ongoing concerns with inmate Capella touching food and making unfair food trades with other inmates.
As a mitigating factor, I took into account that his institutional file reads positively. His client logs indicate that he apologized three to four times to staff after the incident took place. His recent apologies demonstrate that he is making efforts to correct his behaviour. He has spent the month of April in segregation, under CAR 24, administrative segregation, and CAR 27, disciplinary segregation. The disciplinary process is not meant to be punitive, rather it is intended to support an individual in correcting their behaviour.
Inmate Hersey’s evidence includes that he has been incarcerated for a little over three years and does not have bad c-logs. It is not in his character to say something so stupid. He believes the Centre has an agenda because he never had contraband or partook in the drugs. Yet, his cell was searched and his belongings confiscated. He also explained that as a result of the charge, he lost his job and relies on this paid position, lost his unit when he was reclassified, and lost his canteen. Disciplinary Hearing Coordinator (DHC) McGuigan indicated he is supporting inmate Hersey in retrieving his belongings. Inmate Hersey completed a special request form to have his belongings returned including items he purchased on canteen.
Clinical Global Impression-Corrections (CGI-C)
A clinical measurement tool adapted for correctional settings for rating the severity of mental disorders. Inmates are rated on a scale between 0 and 7 (seven being among the most severely ill).
For more on the use of CGI-C, you can read my blog post, Prison Discipline Punishes the Mentally Ill: A Call for Oversight in British Columbia’s Provincial Correctional Centres (July 3, 2025).
He entered custody four days ago and is classified as a client with Mental Health Needs (MHN). Yesterday, he received a CGI-C rating of five indicating he is “markedly ill.” Inmate Davis shared that he has addiction and mental health problems and mobility limitations, which are becoming increasingly more difficult with his age. He described himself as a “grumpy old man” and explained that he is in a situation where he is not capable of “getting out of a problem” and his lack of education is a barrier to employment and advancement.
Code blue
Used to indicate an inmate requires resuscitation or in need of immediate medical attention from health care personnel.
For more on the use of CGI-C, you can read my blog post, Prison Discipline Punishes the Mentally Ill: A Call for Oversight in British Columbia’s Provincial Correctional Centres (July 3, 2025).
Inmate Gill was involved in a code blue where he was found unresponsive in his cell. During the code blue, a burnt wick was observed in the toilet and his cell smelled of smoke. Following the incident, inmate Gill’s cell was frisked due to suspected contraband that resulted in him overdosing. Officer Liu found a burnt piece of tinfoil, a blue pen with white powder, a clear vial with a white powder substance in a paper cup on the desk, and two large pieces of led stuck in the outlet. Three shots of Narcan along with prison staff doing chest compressions is why he is alive today. Inmate Gill testified that the white powder in the vial was supposed to be crystal meth. He said he is not a fentanyl user and never intended to use fentanyl, and the experience was a wake up call.
Code red
When an inmate escapes custody whether from within the perimeter of the correctional centre or during a supervised off site escort.
Code yellow
An emergency situation resulting in the lockdown of the entire correctional centre or a living unit usually due to a violent incident, safety, or security concern, which requires the immediate assistance of responders. Code yellow situations include, but are not limited to: an officer is being assaulted or believes they may be assaulted, an inmate assault or physical fight, or assistance is required to confine or restrain an inmate.
Used as an aggravating factor by the correctional centre on penalty (sentencing).
The video evidence revealed Inmate Lopez instigate an assault by striking inmate Kim from behind. The assault escalated to a two-on-one when inmate Brown joined in. Despite verbal direction by Officer Tom to disengage, the assault persisted. Officer Tom called a code yellow, deployed his OC spray, and used physical control techniques to gain compliance. Even after a code yellow was called and responders arrived at the scene, inmate Lopez and Brown continued to kick inmate Kim while he was on the ground.
When he arrived at cell 105, he saw through the cell window inmate Shore throwing closed fist punches at inmate Stewart’s face. He immediately called a code yellow and directed inmate Shore to disengage, but he did not immediately comply resulting in the use of OC spray. Once inmate Shore disengaged, a code blue was called. Inmate Stewart sustained “poke holes” around his ear and neck area indicative of the use of a shank.
His assaultive behaviour impacted the entire unit, because a code yellow was called and the unit had to be locked up, impacting the rights of his peers to be out on the range.
The unit staff on the living unit accidentally unlocked the common area door between two separate living units, TangoWest and TangoEast, resulting in a large group of inmates from TangoWest proceeding through the door into the common area before entering TangoEast, leading to a unit-wide brawl. A code yellow was called.
Inmate Bob broke the sprinkler head in his cell causing the fire alarm system to activate in the Centre. As a result, the unit had to stop its normal operations because the cell and tier were flooded. Staff had to respond from other areas in the Centre. Inmate Bob said he was “not getting his way so he broke the sprinkler head.” He said it has been five to six weeks since he has been waiting for a transfer to a different Centre.
Contact concerns
Refers to a classification officer’s knowledge of a newly-admitted inmate’s affiliation to criminal organizations and/or offences. This information informs an officer’s decision not to place, for example, rival gang members on the same living unit.
Because there are no placement options for him at the Centre due to his contact concerns, when not housed in segregation, he is housed in healthcare. For the purposes of considering his conditions of confinement, I noted that he is not classified to a regular programming unit.
Due to behavioural and contact concerns, there are limited classification options available for him.
He has spent a considerable amount of time either on a Covid induction unit or in segregation. Due to his affiliations, the Centre is limited with placement options and he will most likely continue to receive restricted conditions of confinement.
He has resided in segregation for about two weeks and, due to limited placement options for him, he will likely remain in segregation, at least until there is a suitable placement option available.
Correctional centre
Provincial jail. In BC, “a lawful place of confinement, including, without limitation, a jail, prison, lockup, place of imprisonment, camp or correctional institution, and any land connected with it” (definition from the Correction Act).
There are ten provincial correctional centres in BC.
The federal government is responsible for penitentiaries, where people serve sentences longer than two years. The provinces are responsible for jails for people serving shorter sentences, less than two years, and for people who are in jail waiting for their trial. An individual in custody waiting for their trial is called a remand inmate.
Correctional officer (C/O)
A security officer can move up the hierarchy as a C/O after 18 months of service and after completing specific training.
Correctional supervisor (C/S)
Supervises security officers and correctional officers.
Count
Refers to the process of making sure every inmate is accounted for within the centre. This is a security protocol to ensure no one has escaped or is in an unauthorized area.
Monday evening, a group of inmates refused to comply with the count leading to a code yellow. As a result, on Tuesday there was heavy staff presence on the unit for formal count at 22:00. Officer Tomas had the face sheet and was conducting formal identification of each inmate on the unit. Correctional Supervisor (C/S) Patrick provided context stating the face count procedure is in place due to a historical escape from the Centre. Rather than comply with the formal count with the face sheet, inmate Cam went into his cell and closed the door.