Amendments to The Correctional Services Act were passed in the Legislature to allow the Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing (CPSP) the ability to listen to suspicious calls recorded on its inmate telephone system.
Amendments to the Act now specifically authorize the inmate telephone system and the ability of the ministry to record and use information obtained through recorded calls.
"The inmate telephone system is part of this government's focus on the safety and security of Saskatchewan's secure correctional centres," Corrections, Public Safety and Policing Minister D. F. (Yogi) Huyghebaert said. "Before the system was put in place, inmates could operate drug smuggling operations, direct assaults in the facilities or in the community and harass victims or witnesses over the phone."
Inmates in all of Saskatchewan's four secure provincial correctional centres have had their phone calls recorded since June 2010, when the system was installed. With passage of the Bill, Corrections officials now have the legislated ability to listen to recorded conversations.
The authority to listen to these calls will be based on reasonable grounds, and the ministry is working with the Privacy Commissioner to best balance security and individual rights. Privileged conversations, such as with an inmate's lawyer, will not be recorded.
"The system will enhance the safety and security of the public, employees and inmates by making it difficult for inmates to conduct criminal activities over the phone," Huyghebaert said.
