‘We have high rates of PTSD across our members and it’s pretty worrying what we’re seeing’
Five correctional officers were assaulted last weekend at the medium‑security Springhill Institution in Nova Scotia, an incident their union says reflects growing violence in federal prisons across Canada.
The attack, in a medium‑security unit, is under investigation and few details have been released publicly.
Union officials say the injured officers are recovering but remain shaken. In an interview with CBC, Union of Canadian Correctional Officers national president Frederick Lebeau said, “They’re doing a little bit better. It was a violent assault,” adding that the union’s “thoughts and prayers are going with them, with their family.”
Lebeau said the incident is unusual for that unit but not isolated in the wider system. “Though the violence is rising across the country, we’re pretty worried about what’s going on in our institution nationally,” he told CBC.
Psychological toll and morale concerns
The union president said the assault is expected to have long‑term psychological effects on those involved. He described the impact of beginning a routine shift and returning home traumatised, asking listeners to “just imagine starting your shift… and you’re coming back and being assaulted physically, psychologically.”
Lebeau told CBC that post‑traumatic stress disorder is a major concern among members. “We have high rates of PTSD across our members and it’s pretty worrying what we’re seeing, those days with violence,” he said.
He said morale at Springhill is “very low” following the attack, noting that officers often spend decades working together. “It’s our friend. It’s our co‑worker. We’re doing almost a life sentence with inmates also during our career, over 25, 30, 35 years of servicing people, Canadians,” he said.
Rising violence and union demands
Lebeau cited other serious incidents, including three inmate homicides in eight months at the maximum‑security unit of Donnacona Institution in Quebec. “We had, under the last eight months, three murderers over there… So it’s, for us, very worrying,” he said.
He told CBC officers are facing more drones, weapons and drugs in prisons, linked to organised crime. “We’re seeing an increase of drones, we’re seeing an increase of arms, of drugs, and at the end of the day, it’s our community that’s not safe,” he said.
Lebeau said the union is pressing for “more drone detectors, better drone detectors,” body scanners and “more boots on the ground,” and argued that “the government needs to invest more money in our institution.”
Available data on assaults and violence involving Nova Scotia correctional facilities
|
Source |
Geographic scope |
Time period |
What it reports on assaults/ violence |
Notes / link |
|
Nova Scotia Dept. of Justice – Corrections Key Indicators |
Nova Scotia provincial correctional facilities |
2018–19 to 2023–24 |
Tracks custody counts, admissions, costs and over‑representation of certain groups, but does not publish figures on assaults against staff. |
Government of Nova Scotia, Justice – “Corrections Key Indicators, 2023–2024” PDF (no staff‑assault data). Link: https://novascotia.ca/just/publications/docs/corrections-key-indicators-report-2023-24.pdf |
|
Nova Scotia Auditor General – Justice: Correctional Facilities (incident data) |
Nova Scotia provincial correctional facilities |
One audit period (pre‑2010) |
Notes that the Department “records data on incidents such as assaults and drug seizures” in correctional facilities, including “offender on staff (in‑patient hospitalization needed),” but does not publish multi‑year counts or rates by year. |
Shows that detailed staff‑assault data exist internally but are not released as a five‑year series. Original AG report is hosted by the province; a mirrored copy is at: https://novascotia.ca/just/global_docs/Deloitte%20Report%20-%20NS%20Correctional%20Facilities%20Nov08.pdf |
|
Justice – Reportable Incident Updates (NS) |
Nova Scotia provincial correctional facilities |
Ongoing (individual incidents) |
Public “reportable incident” updates note serious inmate‑on‑inmate events at specific dates, but do not provide a statistical summary of assaults on correctional officers. |
Illustrates incident‑level transparency, but not aggregate numbers. Link: https://novascotia.ca/just/updates.asp |
|
Correctional Service Canada / Office of the Correctional Investigator |
Federal penitentiaries (national, including but not isolating NS) |
Recent years (e.g., 2023–24) |
OCI annual reports and CSC data discuss violence in maximum‑security facilities, including assaults against staff, but only at the Canada‑wide level; they do not break out assaults on officers specifically in Nova Scotia. |
Useful context on national trends, not usable for a Nova Scotia‑only five‑year count. OCI 2023‑24 report: https://oci-bec.gc.ca/en/content/office-correctional-investigator-annual-report-2023-24 |
|
NSGEU / NUPGE statement on Burnside (Central N.S. Correctional Facility) |
Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility (Burnside), provincial |
2013–2014 (historical) |
Union reported that “assaults on correctional officers have nearly doubled in 2014, as compared to 2013,” at Burnside, but did not publish the underlying numbers or extend the series forward. |
Demonstrates increased violence at one facility, but not a five‑year provincial count. Link: https://archives.nupge.ca/content/more-must-be-done-prevent-assaults-burnside-facility-says-nsgeu |
|
NS correctional officers’ union (NSGEU) – media coverage |
Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility / provincial |
ca. 2023–24 |
Union representatives quoted as saying understaffing has led to “increased assaults on staff,” but again without a published annual data series. |
Qualitative evidence of rising assaults; no usable numeric five‑year series. Halifax Examiner article link: https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/labour/staffing-levels-worst-in-the-history-of-burnside-jail-correction-officers-at-risk-union-says/ |
|
Longitudinal Study of CSC Correctional Officers’ Mental Health |
Federal correctional officers (national) |
Multi‑year research project |
Examines mental‑health impacts, including exposure to violence, among CSC officers across Canada; does not provide province‑specific counts of assaults on staff in Nova Scotia. |
Academic/“think tank” style research. Link: https://www.hss.mun.ca/research/showcase/a-longitudinal-study-of-correctional-services-canada-correctional-officers-mental-health-and-well-being/ |
