Commissioner's Directive

Number - Numéro:
590

Date:
1997-01-24

ADMINISTRATIVE SEGREGATION

Issued under the authority of the Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada

PDF

Policy Bulletin 18

[ Policy Objectives  |  Definition  |  Authority  |  Institutional Responsibilities  |  Voluntary Or Involuntary Placement for Protection  |  Right to Counsel Upon Admission to Administrative Segregation  |  Procedures Respecting Involuntary Placement in Administrative Segregation  |  Conditions of Confinement  |  Staff Visits to the Administrative Segregation Area  |  Administrative Segregation Records  |  Regional Review of Segregated Cases  |  National Reporting ]

POLICY OBJECTIVES

1. To ensure that inmates who must be kept from associating with other inmates for a limited period of time are segregated in a safe and humane fashion, subject to the least restraint necessary, in accordance with a fair and reasonable decision-making process, and are returned to the general inmate population, in the institution, or in another institution, at the earliest appropriate time.

2. To ensure opportunities for segregated inmates to participate in programs to the extent that it is possible in a segregation area.

DEFINITION

3. Administrative segregation is the separation, for specific cause, of certain inmates from the general inmate population. Inmates may be segregated involuntarily or voluntarily:

  1. Involuntary Segregation - The institutional head may order that an inmate be confined in administrative segregation if the institutional head believes on reasonable grounds that:
    1. the inmate has acted, has attempted to act or intends to act in a manner that jeopardizes the security of the institution or the safety of an individual, and that his or her continued presence in the general inmate population would jeopardize the security of the institution or the safety of any person;
    2. the continued presence of the inmate in the general inmate population would interfere with the investigation of a criminal or serious disciplinary offence;
    3. the inmate would be in danger in the general inmate population and the inmate does not request segregation.
  2. Voluntary Segregation - The institutional head may order that an inmate be confined in administrative segregation if the institutional head believes on reasonable grounds that the inmate would be in danger in the general inmate population and the inmate requests segregation.

4. Administrative segregation shall only occur when there are reasonable grounds to believe one or more of the above conditions exist, and the institutional head is satisfied there is no reasonable alternative to administrative segregation.

AUTHORITY

5. The institutional head may segregate inmates involuntarily and voluntarily in accordance with section 31 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. This authority may be delegated by the institutional head to a staff member designated, by name or position for that purpose, in institutional standing orders. As the implications of segregation are serious, the institutional head shall ensure that those designated are at a senior manager level. Normally, such delegation should not be below the level of Unit Manager.

6. In all cases of involuntary and voluntary administrative segregation where the institutional head has not been the person authorizing the confinement, the institutional head shall review the case within one working day after the confinement, to confirm the confinement or to order that the inmate be returned to the general inmate population. There is no power of delegation for this review; the institutional head (or the person acting as the institutional head on the next working day) shall conduct the review. A placement to administrative segregation by a person who is considered the institutional head during non-business hours must be reviewed by the institutional head on the next working day.

INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

7. When an inmate is placed in administrative segregation, the institutional head shall be responsible for ensuring:

  1. the provision of safe and humane custody;
  2. the investigation of the circumstances leading to the segregation;
  3. the development of a plan to resolve the situation that led to the segregation;
  4. in the case of extended segregation, the development of a plan, normally within 60 days of placement in segregation, addressing in detail the schedule of activities for the inmate for those areas outlined in paragraph 24; and
  5. the completion of a written psychological or psychiatric opinion respecting the inmate's capacity to remain in administrative segregation, at least once every 30 consecutive days, to be shared with applicable staff and placed on the inmate's file.

8. The inmate's state of health and health care needs shall be taken into consideration in all decisions relating to administrative segregation.

VOLUNTARY OR INVOLUNTARY PLACEMENT FOR PROTECTION

9. When an inmate requests placement in administrative segregation for his or her own protection, the institutional head, or his or her delegate, shall consider the request and ensure that:

  1. all possible information is collected pertaining to the request;
  2. options other than placement in administrative segregation are explored and utilized if possible;
  3. any identified aggressors associated with the request for protection are confronted and, if necessary, removed from the general inmate population;
  4. reasonable safety measures are provided for the inmate while maintaining the greatest possible level of association under the circumstances;
  5. early resolution of the situation is attempted;
  6. the inmate, if placed in administrative segregation, is returned to the general inmate population as soon as it is possible to safely do so.

10. Where an inmate requests to be placed in, or continue in, administrative segregation and the institutional head does not intend to grant the request, the institutional head, or a staff member designated for that purpose in institutional standing orders, shall, as soon as is practicable, meet with the inmate to explain the reasons for not intending to grant the request, and to give the inmate an opportunity to make oral or written representations.

11. Where it is necessary to place an inmate involuntarily in administrative segregation for his or her protection, the action required by subparagraphs 9 c., d., e. and f. shall apply.

12. All steps taken to help an inmate resolve a threatening situation shall be documented on the inmate's file. The Case Management Manual provides direction for documenting such information and any action taken.

RIGHT TO COUNSEL UPON ADMISSION TO ADMINISTRATIVE SEGREGATION

13. Upon placement in administrative segregation, an inmate shall be informed of his or her right to legal counsel and shall be given reasonable opportunity to retain and instruct legal counsel without delay, and in any case within not more than 24 hours.

PROCEDURES RESPECTING INVOLUNTARY PLACEMENT IN ADMINISTRATIVE SEGREGATION

14. The institutional head shall establish an administrative segregation review board, to be chaired by a staff member at the Unit Manager level or above, to review the cases of all administratively segregated inmates.

15. The institutional head shall ensure that the administrative segregation review board is informed of each inmate's involuntary confinement in administrative segregation.

16. Information related to the case of each segregated inmate shall be collected for the review in accordance with the criteria respecting such reviews outlined in the Case Management Manual.

17. The review board shall make recommendations to the institutional head, in writing, respecting the continuation or discontinuation of the segregation.

18. The review board's recommendation shall be to return the inmate to the general inmate population unless the board is satisfied that the inmate's continued custody in segregation is warranted pursuant to the considerations in section 31 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

19. The institutional head shall review all recommendations made by the review board and he or she shall decide either to continue the period of segregation or to release the inmate from segregation.

20. Where an administrative segregation review board recommends the release of an inmate from segregation and the institutional head does not concur with the recommendation, the institutional head shall personally meet with the inmate as soon as practicable and explain the reasons for the decision. The inmate shall be given an opportunity to respond in person or in writing.

21. An inmate involuntarily placed in administrative segregation shall receive:

  1. a written explanation of the reasons for the segregation within one working day of placement. This explanation shall be provided by the institutional head or a staff member designated by the institutional head for that purpose in institutional standing orders;
  2. a hearing before the administrative segregation review board within 5 working days of the placement in segregation. The hearing shall be conducted with the inmate present unless:
    1. the inmate is voluntarily absent;
    2. the person or persons conducting the hearing believe on reasonable grounds that the inmate's presence would jeopardize the safety of any person present at the hearing; or
    3. the inmate seriously disrupts the hearing.
  3. a reasonable opportunity to present his or her case;
  4. regular reviews by the segregation review board no less frequently than once every 30 days, if the inmate remains in administrative segregation;
  5. notification in writing at least 3 working days prior to the date and time of each regular review and the inmate's intention to attend or not attend the review shall be documented;
  6. at least 3 working days prior to each review:
    1. a copy of any documentation to be used in the review that is pertinent to the inmate's particular case, except that information which is exempt in accordance with Commissioner's Directive 095, entitled "Information Sharing with Offenders"; and
    2. at the inmate's request, relevant Commissioner's Directives, Regional Instructions, and Institutional Standing Orders;
  7. written notification of the review board's recommendation to the institutional head and the reasons for the recommendation;
  8. written notification of the institutional head's decision resulting from each review within 48 hours of the review.

22. The institutional head shall ensure a process is in place to assist inmates in understanding their procedural rights as outlined above.

CONDITIONS OF CONFINEMENT

23. Inmates in administrative segregation shall be accorded the same rights, privileges and conditions of confinement as those inmates in the general inmate population except for those that:

  1. can only be enjoyed in association with other inmates; or
  2. cannot reasonably be given owing to limitations specific to the administrative segregation area, or security requirements.

24. Except in exceptional circumstances, that can be justified on the basis of one or more of the criteria referred to in paragraph 23, inmates in administrative segregation shall be provided with:

  1. case management services;
  2. access to spiritual support;
  3. the opportunity to exercise for at least one hour every day outdoors, weather permitting, or indoors where the weather does not permit exercise;
  4. psychological counselling; and
  5. administrative, educational and health care services.

STAFF VISITS TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE SEGREGATION AREA

25. The administrative segregation area shall be visited at least once every day, including weekends, by the institutional head or by a staff member who is designated by the institutional head for that purpose, by name or position, in institutional standing orders. The institutional head shall ensure that those designated are of a sufficiently senior position to ensure the correct and fair practices of the segregation area and to make decisions with respect to corrective action. Such delegations shall not be below the Unit Manager level, or equivalent, except on weekends where the responsibility to conduct daily visits may be delegated to the officer in charge of the institution.

26. When the daily visits have been delegated to a staff member, the institutional head or his or her deputy shall visit the administrative segregation unit at least once a week.

27. The manager visiting the segregation area shall visit any segregated inmate upon request by the inmate.

28. Each inmate in segregation shall be visited daily, including weekends, by a registered health care professional.

ADMINISTRATIVE SEGREGATION RECORDS

29. The institutional head shall ensure that the CSC Form 218, entitled "Segregation Log", is maintained in the administrative segregation area and that all relevant sections of the form are completed.

30. Copies of all documents pertaining to an inmate's segregation, including segregation review board minutes, employment records, and the dissociation log shall be retained on the inmate's file.

REGIONAL REVIEW OF SEGREGATED CASES

31. Where an inmate is confined in administrative segregation, the Deputy Commissioner, or a staff member at the regional headquarters, who is designated by the Deputy Commissioner, shall review the inmate's case at least once every 60 days that the inmate remains in administrative segregation to determine, based on the considerations set out in section 31 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, whether the administrative segregation of the inmate continues to be justified.

NATIONAL REPORTING

32. Regional Deputy Commissioners shall report to the Commissioner on a semi-annual basis (December 31 and June 30) the number of inmates kept in administrative segregation, by name and by category (involuntary and voluntary) and the reasons therefor, for any inmates administratively segregated in excess of 90 days.

Original signed by
Ole Insgstrup, Commissioner