Correctional Service Canada prison guards have seen a sharp rise in punishment meted out against them over the past five years, documents obtained by the Star reveal.

Overall, the number of penalties received by guards working in this country’s 43 federal institutions soared from 47 in 2009-2010 to 337 in 2012-13.

The numbers dropped slightly in 2013-14, with 251 punishments handed out.

The penalties range from oral or written reprimands, to demotions or terminations for cause. During the five year-period, oral reprimands jumped sharply from 13 to 93 this past year, while written punishments climbed to 90 from 20.

And while no guards were dismissed in 2009-10, that number climbed to as many as 19 in 2012-13.

The transgressions that led to the sharpest increases in the number of penalties were misconduct, (seven punishments in the first year, rising to 53 this past year) negligence (15 punishments in the first year rising to 42 in the last year) and breach of security (one punishment in the first year, compared to 14 in the last year). Other reasons cited include absenteeism, excessive use of force and employee attitude.

The 7,000 guards, who are represented by the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, oversee inmates in this country’s federal prisons, who number about 15,500.

That’s an increase of nearly 1,400 inmates from five years ago.

Correctional Investigator Howard Sapers, the ombudsman for Canada’s federal inmates, says the rise in punishments from Corrections is symptomatic of federal penitentiaries becoming “harsher.’’

“The environment is hardening. There’s more violence, more assaultive behaviour, more lockdowns . . . more temporary withdrawals of service because of perceived labour code violations,’’ Sapers said in an interview after the Star shared the data with him.

Overcrowding has stretched institutions to the point where now there are fewer resources for inmates and staff, he added.

“There’s a scarcity of other resources in terms of institutional training, employment, vocational training, access to recreational services, to counseling, and treatment. When there’s that kind of scarcity there is competition, and therefore conflict,’’ he argues.

“All of these things have been trending up in the last five years.”

Sapers says that although Corrections is building or renovating 2,700 new cells for prisoners, it decommissioned 1,000 units when it recently closed three institutions, including Kingston Penitentiary. So the net increase is 1,700 units, but that just addresses population growth, not the overcrowded conditions that had already existed — particularly in medium security facilities, he says.

The Star also shared the data with Jason Godin, national vice president of the guards’ union UCCO, who argued that while the numbers seem “extremely high’’ they don’t, in his view, tell the whole story.

The guards have a very tough job and are the “most scrutinized’’ of all the categories of federal public service workers — along with RCMP officers — Godin says.

“Just because of the nature of our work, everything that happens is scrutinized to the 100th degree, 10 times over,’’ he added.

He said the numbers don’t mean CSC is hiring bad apples.

There’s no question there’s been a significant increase in prison incidents — use of force procedures by guards, and violent behaviour on the part of inmates, Godin says.

The rise in prison incidents, investigations and scrutiny happened as the federal government ushered in its tough-on-crime agenda, leading to more inmates coming into the system, Godin argues.

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Another part of the problem is a new management approach introduced by CSC in 2013, which is intended to get the guards in line with the way private sector workers operate, Godin says.

“Basically it’s given the employer ammunition to try to terminate as many employees as they can. Remember they’re trying to get rid of as many federal public servants as they can,’’ Godin added.

In addition, many of the disciplinary measures end up being grieved and overturned, Godin says. Disputes are brought before the Public Service Labour Relations Board.

The numbers provided to the Star are pre-adjudication.

Correctional Service Canada says the numbers can be attributed to several factors. For one, the prison service has seen an 18 per cent increase in the correctional officer work force since 2009 — about 1,300 more guards.

The service went on to say that if an employee falls short of the standards outlined in its policies, corrective and sometimes disciplinary action may result.

“CSC does not tolerate any breach of its policies and all allegations regardless of the source are thoroughly investigated by CSC,’’ spokesperson Véronique Rioux said in a statement.

Staff must follow CSC’s Standards of Professional Conduct, and Code of Discipline, she added.

The data released to the Star show absenteeism is another area for which guards are increasingly being punished — 10 disciplinary measures in 2009-10, which rose to 25 the past year.

A report released in Ottawa this week by the office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer — a body that provides independent analysis of the nation’s finances — estimated the cost to “backfill’’ correctional officers who call in sick was $7.2 million in 2011-2012.

Among 20 departments studied, the budget report noted than in the three years starting in 2009-10, Correctional Service Canada had the highest average number of paid sick days per employee for all staff — about 18,000 in all.

The department’s annual budget is about $2.5 billion.

Sapers says the absenteeism figures are “indicators of stress in that work environment.’’

When asked what can be done to improve conditions in Canadian prisons in ways that might reduce tension and the amount of discipline being handed out by CSC, Sapers said a good first step is CSC ensuring its buildings are adequate to meet demand — enough cell space, program space, office space and enough treatment capacity for offenders with mental health requirements.

“I don’t want to dismiss possibility there may be a cost element, but this is primarily not about money,’’ Sapers says.

“CSC still has about a $2.5 billion budget to manage about 15,000 incarcerated offenders and 8,000 or 9,000 supervised in the community on parole. This is about priorities and managing the budget to meet those priorities,’’ he adds.

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