No double bunking happening at Yarmouth jail

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

Despite an announcement back in the spring that inmates at the jail in Yarmouth would be double bunked to help ease overcrowding at correctional facilities in the province, a spokesperson with the Department of Justice said last week that this hasn’t been happening.

“The plan is certainly in place, it was approved in the spring,” said department spokesperson Sherri Aikenhead. “At this point it was monitored during the summer and we’re not going to start double bunking in Yarmouth until the need is demonstrated and that is something we follow on a regular basis.”

Aikenhead says instead the province’s largest correctional facility – the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside – has been able to accommodate the inmate population. Last Friday Aikenhead said there were 32 inmates being double bunked at Burnside, whereas they can manage up to 60 without first having to look at other alternatives.

She added the situation in Burnside is monitored monthly and the numbers do fluctuate, but not to the point yet that they’ve had to move people to Yarmouth.

Since double bunking has not been happening at the Southwest Nova Scotia Correctional Facility on Forest Street, Aikenhead said they also have not hired all of the extra staff required to handle a larger inmate population.

“But the job descriptions and everything are written and ready if needed,” she said.

In April the Department of Justice said it intended to double the inmate capacity at the correctional centre in Yarmouth from 38 to 76 by bringing in portable beds. At Burnside, the plan was to increase inmate capacity from 224 male offenders to 336.

In the spring provincial budget it was also announced that $1 million would go to the Yarmouth jail over the next budget year to cover the costs associated with doubling the inmate capacity. It was stated that the plan was to hire 20 additional staff people at the jail, consisting of guards, kitchen and maintenance staff.