A jury of six-people is offering four recommendations to the Ministry of Corrections following an inquest this week into the death of a man at a Saskatoon jail.
20-year-old Jayde Charles died while at the Saskatoon Provincial Correctional Centre in early December of 2019.
An inquest into his death learned Charles died by suicide after leaving his cell undetected due to a faulty electronic monitoring system that wasn’t registering whether his cell was locked or unlocked. That has since been fixed by the correctional centre.
Charles would be found in the facility’s shower area nearly an hour after he was last counted in his cell.
The 20-year-old had been in a special needs unit designed for struggling and/or difficult inmates.
At the end of the inquest, the jury offered four recommendations after hearing the circumstances around Charles’ death.
All of the recommendations are directed toward Saskatoon Provincial Correctional Centre and Ministry of Corrections.
- Recommended that during 10:15 p.m. To 11:00 p.m. the inmate count is completed by full time night shift. Zero bathroom access at this time. Tracking panel activity – including times that cell doors are open or locked and by whome (11pm-7am).
- Hire one extra staff for night shifts for special needs units for purpose of tracking inmate activity and performing light administrative duties. Specialized training for staff working special needs unit.
- Corrections officers require designated time during day shift to meet with their offenders for more consistent case plan reviews. Increase the frequency of progress reports to 30 days.
- In special needs units – access to social work or mental health professionals should be provided on a regular basis in addition to the weekly psychiatrist. Inmates placed on suicide alert or expressing suicidal ideation should be treated with dignity and offered counselling.
These recommendations are not binding and are only suggestions the Ministry of Corrections may or may not implement.