Behind the Badge: Part one (maximum security)

“It wasn’t until I was in uniform that I realized how important this job is.” The work that Correctional Officers do can be challenging but also rewarding. They work hard to keep Canadians safe but also have a positive impact on the lives of those in our care and custody. 

Over the next several weeks, we’ll meet some of them in a new three-part series, called Behind the Badge. In part one, we meet Victoria, who has worked inside a maximum-security prison for the last two years. Tune in to this episode to hear her story.

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Listen to Prisons Inside/Out, a podcast from Correctional Service Canada. Follow along as we take you beyond the walls of our institutions, highlighting the important work we do to protect Canadians and change lives every day.

Kirstan: There are more than 7,000 dedicated correctional officers working in federal prisons across Canada every day. It's up to these correctional officers to ensure the safety and security of our institutions. They are the eyes and ears that keep our prisons running safely 24/7. Now, you've probably seen what correctional officers look like in the movies, right? Big hats, batons, flashlights, keychains. But as you know from our previous episodes, things at CSC are not like in the movies.

Kirstan: In this three-part interview series called Behind the Badge, we're sitting down with three correctional officers, each from a different security level for a glimpse into their world. I'm your host, Kirstan Gagnon. Welcome to prisons inside out.

Kirstan: In this episode, we're exploring how it works in a maximum-security institution, the highest security level in the federal correctional system, where about 13% of the inmate population is housed. I had the chance to meet Victoria, who is a correctional officer working in the maximum-security unit at Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ontario.

Welcome to the podcast Victoria.

Victoria: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Kirstan: And you've been working here at Collins Bay for how many years?

Victoria: For two years now.

Kirstan: So that is probably a really challenging type of job.

Kirstan: Uh, it can be challenging, you know, I've never worked in the medium level, so I don't know, uh, the ins and outs there, but I know that in the max unit, you're working with potentially more dangerous offenders. And so, you have to be alert and, uh, and ready at all times.

Kirstan: So, it's pretty intense.

Victoria: Absolutely. It can be for sure.

Kirstan: And, in terms of a typical day, can you describe to me what happens when you come in and when you leave?

Victoria: Yeah. So, the mornings we get them, they usually open up for food at, like, 7 a.m., we do a lockup at quarter-to-eight. During the week, they get, they come out for work, and some come out for any kind of programs like the indigenous program or school. They come out, they do that, uh, they get locked up for a count at 10:40. And then they come out at noon for lunch. They're out for 45 minutes. And they get locked back up for a count.

Victoria: And then 1:00, they come back out for a program or, some days we have health care. And then they, uh, they have the afternoon for work and programs. They get locked back up at, uh, 3:50, and then they come out at 5:00 for dinner and then the evenings, usually theirs to do their recreation or their yard. So. Okay. And then they go, uh, lock up again at 10:30 at night and they're, uh, in their cells until the next day.

Kirstan: Great. I had an opportunity to meet some of your colleagues, and, everybody seemed like, they like working together. And there's good, a good teamwork aspect. Would you say that's true?

Victoria: I would say it's even more true over in the max unit, you have a very. We're, we're kind of off away from the, the institution. And we're kind of like a family. There's only certain people that work over there. And we, you know, we have to, we have to depend on each other. We have to make sure that we are going to be having each other's backs, that we're alert, that we're, we're able to see things happened. I'm a very visual person.

Victoria: So I watch the cameras a lot, and I watch the movement. And if it changes and, and stuff like that. So over in the Max unit, it's, it's definitely like a, a tight-knit group of people.

Kirstan: And what made you decide to become a correctional officer?

Victoria: So I mean, I was in police foundations when I graduated high school. I went to college and did police foundations, and I was ready to go to the RCMP. And, uh, when I found out I was going to the top of the Earth, is what it felt like. I decided I was too young, and I didn't want to do that. And so I went into health care, and I did health care for about, uh, 18 to 20 years. And then Covid hit and health care just kind of wasn't my passion anymore. And the opportunity to join corrections came up and I jumped on it.

Victoria: And I'm so glad I did. I've not looked back since, and I absolutely love my job.

Kirstan: Yeah, great. And, in terms of security, we talk a lot about security in a federal penitentiary, for obvious reasons, but what would you say is most important in terms of preventing incidents?

Victoria: We do have, you know, rules that the, the inmates are supposed to follow. We do have a gallery officer who watches while we're walking. We have officers on the ground that are watching, and we have, uh, a control post that watches, it's it almost feels very one-on-one when you're doing it, when you're walking down the ranges. But gaining rapport with the inmates kind of doesn't necessarily put you at ease, but it kind of gives you a one up with them, right? If you have a good rapport with inmates, they're gonna, you know, when they know they need something, they can come to you and get it and then and vice versa sometimes.

Victoria: So, gaining rapport is a big security. I feel like it's something that helps you with, with the security.

Kirstan: Would you say it helps you gain their respect?

Victoria: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.

Kirstan: And let's say, we know that it, you know, visitors and connections with the outside world is an important part of an offender's rehabilitation and likelihood of success. How does it work if I want to visit someone in a maximum institution? Maximum security? From a security perspective, like, do I can I come in and do you search visitors? How does that work?

Victoria: Yeah. So, they have to go through a process. Usually it's filing, uh, paperwork. You. I do believe you go through a CPIC. And it goes through your parole officer, like, there's a, there's a chain of command before you. You can just come in. You can't just say, okay, I want to visit, you know, so-and-so. Usually they do, uh, in-person visits or face-to-face visits. In VNC, sometimes they have to do video visits first before they can move up those steps.

Victoria: And we do offer PFVs even for our max inmates. Private family visits. Yes. Yes, they have little trailers that they, they can go to. And the max inmates do get those opportunities. But they get the opportunity to go and spend time with their family. But it's, it's very structured. It's very it goes through a rigorous inspection beforehand. They do get, the dogs come out. They do get searched and stuff like that.

Victoria: So it's not just walk off the street and come in and visit. You have to go through the process for sure.

Kirstan: This morning I was talking to somebody about security and, the number of tools available in an institution. It's not a one size fits all. And would you say the dogs. You spoke a bit about the dogs? Would you say those are important?

Victoria: Absolutely. I mean, there's times we've had them come in and find things that we just couldn't find when we're doing cell searches. We even have a dog that comes in and he now looks for, he's only trained or she's only trained, for cell phones so the dog can come in and sniff these out. And it's just absolutely amazing to watch them work.

Kirstan: What does a cell phone smell like?

Victoria: I don't, right, like, I have no idea, but I've seen it, and it's amazing. So they are a big part of our team.

Kirstan: Yeah. So, they're working dogs.

Victoria: They're working dogs, that's for sure.

Kirstan: And so, the inmates are used to them?

Victoria: Uh, no, they don't like them. They find the things they don't want us to find.

Kirstan: Okay. Good. What are some of those things, would you say? Like, uh. Drugs. Weapons?

Victoria: Yeah. Sometimes they'll find weapons, but mostly drugs. Tobacco. And then we do have that one cell phone dog.

Kirstan: And then an officer would come in and seize those items.

Victoria: Yes. Yeah. So usually the officer working, uh, with their dog comes and follows them and then checks and then says, you know, we either A) found this, or something may be here. And then we come in and we, we confiscate it and file it and send it in to the SIO for them to figure it out. Great.

Kirstan: And you talked about being in the area of health care, and I thought that was such a good an interesting background to bring to corrections because I know health care workers use, uh, trauma-informed approach as well. And would you say that's an element that's important? You talked about building rapport and communication.

Victoria: Yeah. I mean, you know, as a mom, I bring in that as well as health care as you bring in empathy. So you empathize with them. It's not it doesn't mean that you are doing anything wrong. It means you understand the way they're feeling. So you, you tend to be able to relate to them a little bit more or at least feel more compassion towards them. Some of them feel like they can't talk to others because for whatever reason.

Victoria: But I find my inmates are able to speak to me. They give me respect because I empathize with them. Right? I'm compassionate and I, I'm helping. I'm willing to help them. I do whatever I can to help them get through whatever they're getting through or need to get through.

Kirstan: So, because they come here and have their own set of issues too, right? And, so you never know where somebody is coming from and trying to empathize goes a long way.

Victoria: Yeah. And sometimes if they keep it in and don't tell you what's going on, you can't figure it out. Right.

Kirstan: And it can blow up, I'm guessing, right?

Victoria: Oh, absolutely. Just like a ticking time bomb. Right. If you don't get to that core, problem, it could result in something and escalate later. Yes.

Kirstan: Okay. And, uh, the last time I was here, I, had the opportunity to visit us a sweat lodge outside. And today I could smell the smudging that was happening in some of the cells. So it provides an opportunity for Indigenous inmates to, you know, retain their culture inside here. Would you say that that is in the max as well?

Victoria: Yeah. So, we have actually our own Indigenous grounds in the max. And they have their max, uh, indigenous programming daily. I do believe they do a sweat every couple of weeks. Possibly. But it's I, I feel it's great for them. They it's neat to see them, uh, turn into almost like a different person when they go to it. Right. Because they're, they're going down to their culture and they're doing their thing. That makes them feel more at home, I guess. So, it's great that they have those programming for them.

Victoria: And yeah. So, we have our own we don't go outside anywhere. We they really, except for healthcare, we really don't leave our max area.

Kirstan: And I notice there's telephones pretty much everywhere where inmates can call a loved one or somebody on their approved calling list. So that seems to be something that they can do when they're, they have that open, right?

Victoria: Yeah. When they have their open time, they have access to phones on their range and in the rec area, they have two in the rec area and one on the range. As long as it's an approved number on their phone and they have money on their phone, they're able to call their loved ones. Yeah.

Kirstan: Awesome. And so, in terms of equipment, do you, wear a firearm in the maximum?

Victoria: So, my shifts, I work up in the gallery for half my shifts, and I work on the floor for the other half, while I'm on the floor, I carry gas and handcuffs and a radio. Up in the gallery, I'm carrying weapons. I have a little armoury cart that I carry, and it depends on what the situation is. Is what you're going to use.

Kirstan: And so, you had extensive training to use all these things.

Victoria: Yes. So, we yearly we get updated on our firearms training. And we go out to the range and we, you know, have to hit an average. And as long as you pass it then you can continue doing those posts.

Kirstan: So hopefully you never have to use it.

Victoria: I hope I never have to use it.

Kirstan: Yeah. No, absolutely. And in terms of, we talked a bit about contraband. If you have to search a cell, like how does that work? Do you have to lock down the entire unit?

Victoria: Okay. So, if we have a drone, uh, command and it's introduced contraband, we, it's first decided by the SIO whether or not they're going, who it could be targeted, and then we go in and we search the cell. We're going through absolutely everything respecting obviously the inmate space. And we're looking for, you know, little hiding spots, little holes in the mattress or, in books or in shampoo bottles.

Victoria: We do an extensive search, and if we find something, we bag it, tag it, and charge them and send it on into the SIO.

Kirstan: Would you talk to me a bit about the security perimeter on the outside of a maximum? Because in recent months, Canadians have been wondering, how secure is a maximum security institution?

Victoria: Okay, so our building is a building within the institution. Our building is, uh, it has four, I guess, tiers that shoot out, and surrounded by a fence. And the fence is, uh, it's got barbed wire on the top. It's tall. I can't even tell you how tall it is. And it surrounds the entire unit. And we do perimeter walks, and we walk the whole building, looking for broken windows, any kind of holes in the fence, and any kind of, uh, security risks, I guess you can say, around the max unit.

Kirstan: Sounds fascinating. And already in two years, you seem to have so many stories to tell. Is there anything in particular you'd like Canadians to know about your work?

Victoria: I don't know. I mean, it wasn't, you know, I was excited to get into this career, but until I was actually in uniform on a range, I didn't realize how important it was. Um. This isn't. You know, for the faint of heart. But it's a I'm pretty proud of my job, and I'm pretty proud of in the two years what I've done, I'm pretty proud of everything I've done so far. So, I'm going to continue doing that. And I know that there's things I want to do in the future.

Victoria: I don't always want to be an officer, but I do want to stay within corrections. And yeah, just grow.

Kirstan: Such an important job. Yeah. And on behalf of the service, I just want to say thank you to you and to your colleagues as well, for doing this work and truly working to change lives because it sounds like it. You can have a tremendous impact.

Victoria: Absolutely. Thank you.

Kirstan: This brings us to the final part of today’s episode, Common Corrections. Each episode we’ll look at a common misconception Canadians may have about the correctional system and do our best to set the record straight.

Today’s common correction is…all individuals sentenced with murder serve their entire sentence in a maximum-security prison.

Technically speaking, this isn’t true.

As we explained in a previous episode, CSC has a rigorous assessment process to assign security classifications, and this is done according to the law.

Offenders with a life sentence for first- or second-degree murder typically begin their sentence in a maximum-security prison. Under the law, CSC must review security classifications every 2 years. It is possible that offenders in maximum-security be transferred to a lower level during the course of their sentence. This can only happen when an offender is thoroughly assessed by experts and showed that they can be safely managed in that setting.

It is important to note that, maximum and medium security institutions have the same security safeguards on the outside such as fenced perimeters, regular security patrols and inmate counts around the clock. Public safety is our top priority. The main difference is that inmates have different routines in the institution.

For more information on this, be sure to check out episode two of this podcast on Security Classifications and Inmate Transfers.

Kirstan: On the next episode of this three-part interview series, Behind the Badge, we sit down with Don, a correctional officer who works in the medium security unit at Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ontario. We'll have that and more on the next episode of Prisons Inside Out. A big thank you again to today's guest, Victoria. This has been a production of the Correctional Service of Canada, and I'm your host, Kirstan Gagnon. Thanks for listening.