Peer mentor
An inmate designated by the correctional centre as a mentor to other inmates. In order to become a peer mentor, the inmate must be on good terms with prison staff and demonstrate compliant behaviour.
Inmate Dubois is the peer mentor on the unit, a paid position, where his role is to mediate and resolve issues on the unit.
Although he resides on the Mental Health Needs (MHN) unit, he is not classified by the Centre as MHN. Rather, he resides on the unit as a peer mentor and actively provides support by way of helping to encourage program participation and ensuring unit cleanliness.
He volunteers as a mentor in the peer support program where he attends segregation and provides support to inmates with Mental Health Needs (MHN). Correctional Officer Dupont has known him for 27 years and testified that this breach is out of character for him.
Prisoner
Prior to the creation of BC Corrections in 1950, people incarcerated were called prisoners. Inmate is now the legislative language.
Progressive discipline
Is a principle used to inform the type of penalty (sanction) that will be imposed. The principle is that if an inmate breaches a similar prison rule breach more than once then that warrants a more severe penalty.
He was admitted into the Centre on June 2, 2022. He is remanded in custody. In the month of June, he had five negative client log entries, including assaulting a staff member and receiving ten days in segregation and failing to comply with staff direction resulting in an extraction team and receiving twelve days in segregation. I considered his institutional record when I applied the principle of progressive discipline.
This was inmate William’s first institutional breach. In accordance with the principle of progressive discipline, I imposed a warning.
DHC Comb submitted that I should apply progressive discipline. I considered the aggravating factors surrounding the breach: he threatened a staff member and was persistent as shown on camera. For staff, the Centre is their place of work and they have a right to a safe workplace environment. Staff should not have to come into or leave work and have to look over their shoulder. I also considered his lack of remorse and his inability to appreciate the nature and consequences of his behaviour. When applying the principle of progressive discipline, I recognized that he just completed a segregation penalty for the same charge, threatening another person.
Inmate Chamberlain was charged for stealing, specifically taking two meal trays. The Centre informed me of the serious consequences often involving violence when stealing another inmate’s meal. The video evidence showed her taking one meal tray to her house while returning to consume the second meal tray at a table with her peers. Later in the hearing, inmate Chamberlain told me she was pregnant. Given this is her first breach and nothing serious happened as a consequence, I imposed a warning.
Inmate Ross apologized to the officer prior to the hearing and thought the situation had been resolved. I considered him taking ownership and wanting to write an apology letter as mitigating factors. I found him to be genuine and honest.
Protective Custody (PC)
A classification designation for inmates who need protection from other inmates due to safety concerns and is applied to an inmate who: is in custody on sex-related offences, is a past or present employee in the criminal justice system, is a known informant, or has special physical or mental needs and would be at risk in the general population.
Inmate Singer was initially placed on a regular programming unit but shortly after reclassified to a PC range because he feared for his safety.