B.C. coroners’ jury makes 7 recommendations to prevent inmate suicides

BURNABY, B.C. – A coroners’ jury examining the suicides of three inmates within seven months at a B.C. prison has recommended an increase in the number of guards and unscheduled cell checks on the night shift.

The men housed in the segregation unit at Mountain Institution in Agassiz (AG’-ah-see) died between July 2012 and February 2013.

Jurors at the inquest made seven recommendations that include the installation of larger windows in the segregation cell and sensors in the floor to indicate when inmates get out of bed at night.

The jury also suggested that community hospitals that treat inmates should give escort officers treatment and intervention information that would be forwarded to health-care staff at the jail.

Inquest lawyer Rod MacKenzie says jurors also want guards working in the 16 segregation cells to be briefed about the inmates they’re dealing with.

The jury says an intermediate mental health care unit should be created in each region for inmates who don’t need longer-term treatment at a facility in Abbotsford.