Two independent reports into Manitoba youth correctional facilities show an overuse of solitary confinement and pepper spray, and a lack of oversight.

The reports, from the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth and from the Manitoba Ombudsman, were released Thursday. They examined the two youth correctional facilities run by the province — Agassiz Youth Centre and Manitoba Youth Centre.

The advocate's office found that in a one-year period, segregation was used 1,455 times, affecting more than one in three youths entering custody.

In one case, a teenager was kept in solitary confinement for 400 consecutive days in a cell smaller than a parking stall.

"What we discovered through the course of this two year investigation was extremely concerning, unacceptable and must immediately change," Manitoba advocate Daphne Penrose said.

"Some youth in Manitoba have been confined in solitary, denied their basic needs, and refused meaningful human contact for days and weeks on end," Penrose wrote in her report.

The examination into the two facilities was announced in December 2016 after the office of the Manitoba advocate received public complaints about the use of pepper spray and segregation at the province's youth correctional facilities.

The ombudsman report looked at whether the regulations were being followed, while the advocate looked at whether or not the use of pepper spray and segregation were justified.

In 2015-16, solitary confinement was used at least 1,455 times in Manitoba with nearly 500 of those incidents lasting more than 24 hours. In one case, a youth spent 400 consecutive days in a cell like this one at Agassiz Youth Centre. (Submitted by Manitoba Justice)

Collectively, the reports analyzed data of incarcerated youth from Sept. 1, 2015, to Aug. 31, 2016. Interviews were also conducted with staff, experts, and incarcerated youth.

The reports also found 399 incidents where solitary confinement was used for a time greater than 24 hours, and 99 incidents where a youth was held in solitary confinement for more than 15 days.

There is currently no maximum time limit for how long a young person can be kept in solitary confinement or isolation in Manitoba's youth custody facilities.

Lack of oversight, reporting

Both the advocate and the ombudsman detail a lack of oversight in both of the province's youth correctional facilities.

Both investigations found facilities are not tracking why segregation is being used.

"Manitoba Justice was unable to provide clear information about who, when, for what reasons, and how long youth were held in segregation and solitary confinement," the advocate's report says.

The reports, from the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth and from the Manitoba Ombudsman, were released Thursday. They examined two facilities run by the province — Agassiz Youth Centre and Manitoba Youth Centre. (Trevor Brine/CBC)

"The data that we were able to collect off those reports lacked sufficient detail to really pick out, in a lot of cases, the reason why a child was placed in segregation," ombudsman Marc Cormier said.

Facilities are not required to report to the province when rules around segregation are broken.

The ombudsman also found that both facilities had policies that allowed segregation for disciplinary reasons, even though the regulations prohibit doing this to youth.

The reports also detail how there is not enough oversight when it comes to using pepper spray.

Only four provinces in Canada allow pepper spray use in youth custody facilities: Manitoba, Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

Numbers in the advocate's report show that Manitoba had the highest number of pepper spray incidents in 2012-2017, with 98. In 2018 pepper spray was used twice.

Segregation and mental health

Both reports pointed to the high rates of trauma and mental health issues faced by youths who are incarcerated and the potential long-term psychological impacts of solitary confinement.

"The harm can be permanent," the ombudsman wrote. "Segregation increases the likelihood that an inmate will self-harm or attempt suicide."

Half of all suicides in custody in Canada occur when the individual is in solitary confinement, the advocate added.

Unlike adult correctional facilities, youth facilities are meant to offer rehabilitation, with the intention of having all inmates returned to the community.

The advocate said both pepper spray and solitary confinement may increase the chance of re-offending.

"When you have a child who's been kept in segregation for a prolonged period of time, and he is about to be released into the community, I do question about reintegration safely," Penrose said.

Many young people in custody also have significant intellectual and cognitive vulnerabilities, the reports state.

The advocate said facilities should have alternatives to dealing with youth who are acting out, instead of relying on pepper spray or segregation.

"Manitoba is in desperate need of a comprehensive youth addictions and mental health strategy and plan," the advocate wrote.

Recommendations

The Manitoba advocate has six main recommendations including:

Limiting segregation to a maximum of 24 hours at a time (beyond 24 hours, it is considered solitary confinement).

Collecting and analyzing data on segregation.

Using pepper spray only in life-threatening situations.

Offering more mental health supports for youths in custody.

Creating a mental health facility for incarcerated young people.

The ombudsman has 32 recommendations focused on oversight and reporting, including mandatory reporting on why pepper spray or segregation was used.

Manitoba Justice minister responds

Manitoba's justice minister said his department plans to act on the the recommendations from the ombudsman.

"Certainly there was probably some inadequacies in terms of paperwork and the administrative side of things over the last previous years," Minister Cliff Cullen said.

"Clearly the ombudsman has identified some of those. That's why we're receptive to the ombudsman's recommendations. We have most of those recommendations in hand already. The rest will be finalized by March 1st of this year," he said.

Cullen said the province has worked to come in line with other jurisdictions, and in 2018, developed new policies around enhanced monitoring of inmates in segregation.

Cullen would not say whether or not the advocate's recommendations will be acted on.

'Anonymous stories presented as fact': MGEU

In response to the reports, the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union — which represents juvenile counsellors, who care for youth in custody — said many incarcerated young people are in custody for violent crimes and have complex issues.

"The anonymous stories presented as fact in the report were not verified by the employer or our members, and in many cases do not ring true with the daily work experience of our members," MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky said in a written statement.

"The suggestion that the work our juvenile counsellors do with youth in custody is not meaningful is an insult to their training, professionalism and commitment to helping the troubled youth who find themselves in the criminal justice system."

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She said that juvenile counsellors take "every precaution" to keep youth and themselves safe despite the dangerous work environment. The use of pepper spray is a last resort in dangerous situations, and requires adherence to new policies, including a supervisor's approval.

Observation rooms are used when a youth is at risk of suicide, is a danger to others or needs a "cool-off period." Gawronsky said in some cases, youth ask for a break from the general population.

"We have a serious meth crisis and an increasing amount of youth dealing with mental health issues," she said.

"We welcome the call for more supports for mental health and addictions issues, because that's why many youth get in trouble in the first place."

She added that many of the recommendations made by the children's advocate have already been implemented, but did not elaborate on what they were.

Read the reports: