By Corrections1 Staff
TRURO, Nova Scotia — A plan to give inmates who use injectable drugs access to clean needles in their cells has caused corrections officers to protest.
According to CTV News Atlantic, the officers are concerned for their safety. They say the issue has already caused problems at the maximum-security Atlantic Institution.
“We’ve already seen problems there,” said Jeff Wilkins, the Atlantic regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional officers.“We’ve already seen inmates sharing their needle that they’ve been given to other inmates, and it’s found in other inmates’ cells. So, when it comes to that, it absolutely is a risk for our members.”
Officers protested on Monday afternoon after the needle-exchange program started that morning. The organizers said if there needs to be a needle program in prisons, they want to see it operated by healthcare workers, not officers.