Update, May 10th:
A new report by Dr. Jane Sprott (CrimSL PhD 1999; professor, Department of Criminology at Ryerson University), Professor Emeritus Anthony Doob, and Adelina Iftene (Assistant Professor, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, is now available:
Original text, published February 24, 2021:
CrimSL alumna Dr. Jane Sprott (CrimSL PhD 1999; professor, Department of Criminology at Ryerson University) and Professor Emeritus Anthony Doob have released a new report on Solitary Confinement, Torture, and Canada’s Structured Intervention Units.
This is the third report Sprott and Doob have released.
- Understanding the Operation of Correctional Service Canada's Structured Intervention Units: Some Preliminary Findings (October 2020)
- Is there Clear Evidence that the Problems that have been Identified with the Operation of Correctional Service Canada's "Structured Intervention Units" were Caused by the COVID-19 Outbreak? An Examination of Data from Correctional Service Canada (November 2020)
- Solitary Confinement, Torture, and Canada’s Structured Intervention Units (February 2021)
In the latest report, they write:
“Our current report is not designed to be a comprehensive examination of all aspects of the SIUs. Rather, we wanted to focus on the few most pressing concerns and to provide a timely release of information. For this report, then, we chose to address three separate issues.”
These issues are:
- Were there notable changes over time?
- Regional variation in the operation of the SIUs
- Solitary Confinement and Torture
The report received initial coverage in the Globe and Mail. Journalist Patrick White quotes Professor Doob:
“I don’t think you can argue that they had growing pains with SIUs and now they’ve got it under control. What worries me is the opposite: that what they’re doing now becomes the way they continue to do it.”
More news coverage of this report can be found in our In the Press section