stevesboo23
02-20-2005, 05:54 PM
Stony ranks high in weapons haul
By CARY CASTAGNA, POLICE REPORTER
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/02/19/935669-sun.html (http://)
Correctional officers seized more than 200 weapons from inmates at Stony Mountain Institution last year -- the third-highest among Canada's 54 federal prisons, says a union spokesman. Kevin Grabowsky, Prairies representative for the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, told The Sun yesterday the statistics reflect an increase in gang membership and violence at the medium-security facility just north of Winnipeg.
Stony Mountain spokeswoman Linda Garwood-Filbert said the seizure totals reflect the vigilance of correctional officers.
'OFFICERS DOING GOOD WORK'
"It just shows our officers are doing good work," she said.
Correctional Service of Canada Prairie Region spokeswoman Cathy Stocki added, "We're happy to say we're getting a lot of these so-called weapons in these seizures."
Grabowsky agreed officers can be proud of a job well-done but said that doesn't make the numbers any less troubling.
"It shows what our inmates are becoming. Why are they still manufacturing weapons in such a great number? What does that tell you what it's like inside that institution?" Grabowsky said.
"This is a medium-security penitentiary. Why is this happening? They need to look at the problem."
At last count, Grabowsky said there were 164 identified gang members within Stony Mountain's population of roughly 500 inmates.
Those gangsters were associated to almost a dozen gangs, including Red Alert, Native Syndicate, Indian Posse, Deuce and the Hells Angels, said Grabowsky.
"The more gangs, the more violence, the harder it is to control the population," Grabowsky said.
Nearly 1,200 weapons were seized from the country's 54 federal prisons during the last fiscal year, said Stocki.
"Some of them are very crude," she said.
By CARY CASTAGNA, POLICE REPORTER
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/02/19/935669-sun.html (http://)
Correctional officers seized more than 200 weapons from inmates at Stony Mountain Institution last year -- the third-highest among Canada's 54 federal prisons, says a union spokesman. Kevin Grabowsky, Prairies representative for the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, told The Sun yesterday the statistics reflect an increase in gang membership and violence at the medium-security facility just north of Winnipeg.
Stony Mountain spokeswoman Linda Garwood-Filbert said the seizure totals reflect the vigilance of correctional officers.
'OFFICERS DOING GOOD WORK'
"It just shows our officers are doing good work," she said.
Correctional Service of Canada Prairie Region spokeswoman Cathy Stocki added, "We're happy to say we're getting a lot of these so-called weapons in these seizures."
Grabowsky agreed officers can be proud of a job well-done but said that doesn't make the numbers any less troubling.
"It shows what our inmates are becoming. Why are they still manufacturing weapons in such a great number? What does that tell you what it's like inside that institution?" Grabowsky said.
"This is a medium-security penitentiary. Why is this happening? They need to look at the problem."
At last count, Grabowsky said there were 164 identified gang members within Stony Mountain's population of roughly 500 inmates.
Those gangsters were associated to almost a dozen gangs, including Red Alert, Native Syndicate, Indian Posse, Deuce and the Hells Angels, said Grabowsky.
"The more gangs, the more violence, the harder it is to control the population," Grabowsky said.
Nearly 1,200 weapons were seized from the country's 54 federal prisons during the last fiscal year, said Stocki.
"Some of them are very crude," she said.