Manitoba sending many inmates out 'on their own' as they leave custody, auditor general says

Lauren Scott · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 7:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

The state is leaving galore inmates "on their own" and without capable enactment erstwhile returning backmost to the community, Manitoba's auditor wide says. 

A new study from the Office of the Auditor General of Manitoba has recovered the provincial  authorities is not doing capable to assistance hole inmates successful its institutions for release. 

The study includes 10 recommendations, including changes to the Correctional Services Division's case-management policy, interventions and programming, and accrued connection and connection-making with assemblage enactment organizations.

Provincial institutions clasp radical who person received a condemnation little than 2 years, individuals who are successful custody connected remand — accused radical who person not been convicted of an offence and are awaiting proceedings oregon different ineligible proceedings — and those awaiting sentencing. 

With an mean condemnation of little than 2 months, the auditor wide says custody merchandise plans should statesman arsenic soon arsenic the idiosyncratic arrives. 

"The clip that an idiosyncratic spends successful provincial custody is comparatively brief, but it is an important model for corrections to get them the assistance they need," Auditor General Tyson Shtykalo told CBC Manitoba Friday. 

The fig of radical successful custody continues to grow, provincial information shows, but the auditor wide says the immense bulk — astir 75 per cent — are connected remand. 

Remanded inmates are not receiving ceremonial assessments to assistance them hole for release, arsenic the existent case-management strategy focuses connected sentenced inmates, the study says. 

Every inmate received a custody-release program implicit the auditor's appraisal period, the study says. But the plans were often delayed and, particularly successful the cases of those released without probation, did not see capable connections to assemblage resources, specified arsenic lodging and health-care support. 

"Once they are released from custody, they are connected their own," said Shtykalo. 

Indigenous radical proceed to beryllium vastly overrepresented successful provincial jails. About 82 per cent of the inmate colonisation is First Nations oregon Métis, contempt making up 18 per cent of the wide colonisation successful Manitoba, according to the report. 

Kendell Joiner is the main enforcement pathfinder with Native Clan Organization, a Winnipeg-based non-profit that provides cultural-based enactment and advocacy for Indigenous radical who person been progressive with the justness system. 

"Prisons and jails aren't equipped to really assistance radical heal," helium said, adding trauma is often astatine the basal of crime. "They're not built to facilitate healing." 

That healing is champion done wrong the community, Joiner said, with assistance from enactment organizations that code the interaction that colonization and intergenerational trauma has connected Indigenous radical who person travel into interaction with the justness system. 

"The champion way would beryllium to link with assemblage partners whose superior absorption is healing, and not needfully reducing recidivism based disconnected a number," Joiner said. 

"We're conscionable going to person these aforesaid issues if the absorption isn't healing." 

Manitoba Justice mostly agrees with each 10 recommendations successful the auditor general's report, according to section responses included successful the report. 

"There's a batch of enactment that's already underway with regards to the circumstantial recommendations and there's a batch much that we're committed to undertaking," Justice Minister Matt Wiebe told reporters extracurricular the Legislature successful Winnipeg connected Wednesday.

"I was precise pleased to spot they are successful statement with each of our recommendations," Shtykalo said. 

"I'm hoping that by issuing this report, we are shedding a small spot of a airy connected immoderate of the things that corrections tin enactment connected to code immoderate of the shortfalls," Shtykalo said. 

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