Ceramic knives, which escape metal detectors, are causing concern in prison: 14 correctional officers from Saint-Jérôme threatened to leave work at the end of January because such an object had been seen in their unity.
Prison managers refused to order a search of the area by a specialized unit based on mere suspicion. Rarely, it was ultimately the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) which ordered the intervention of this squad equipped with riot control equipment.
“After analyzing the situation, we determine that there is a danger justifying the refusal to carry out their work,” wrote the labor inspectors in a report written during the night of January 27 to 28, obtained by The Press. “Consequently, we order a search of the cells of those detained with the prison emergency intervention team (ÉCIU). »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CNESST
Ceramic knife found on an inmate at Saint-Jérôme prison
“Another knife”
It was after a fight between two inmates that the first ceramic knife was discovered by correctional officers. “This would be the first time that a manufactured knife and not a homemade weapon has been found,” notes the CNESST in its report. “The agents suspect the presence of another knife”, particularly on the basis of the testimony of a detainee.
The tools made available to correctional officers, however, do not make it possible to detect the presence of such an object in inmates’ belongings, the report indicates.
Prison employees can count on “a device called CELSENS, a tool used for the detection of cell phones and metals, but only an X-ray scanner is capable of detecting non-metallic objects,” indicates the CNESST. “The scanner available at the entrance to the detention center […] is not designed to scan people. »
This is what pushed labor inspectors to order a general search by the squad equipped to physically enter the dangerous cells. “The danger of the presence of at least a second ceramic-tipped knife, if not more, is present and correctional service officers are not sufficiently equipped to control this danger during cell searches,” they ruled.
The employer suggested instead “searching the detention cells while being equipped with a safety helmet and inflammatory agent while putting the detainees in their underwear”, but without all the paraphernalia of the specialized squad.
“The file to which you are referring is currently the subject of a request for administrative review,” indicated the Ministry of Public Security by email. “No comments will therefore be made in connection with this particular event. » The organization however argued that “security in detention establishments constitutes a priority” and that Quebec had announced an investment of 35 million over five years which will be used in particular for the purchase of “radar systems for detecting drones and of body scanning detectors”.
“Aberrant”
The president of the union that represents correctional officers, Mathieu Lavoie, explained in an interview what he thought of the situation.
“What I find aberrant is that basically, we are obliged to ask the CNESST to intervene to apply a procedure,” he lamented, adding that this type of situation was increasing in prisons. Quebecois. “Managers do not see the need to be preventative. Maybe there weren’t any weapons, but at least we reduce the chances of an attack on the officers. »
Mr. Lavoie says he does not know whether the search ordered by the CNESST in this case led to the discovery of a ceramic knife or another prohibited object.
This type of knife that metal detectors do not detect is problematic, he continued, adding that several had been seized in Quebec prisons.
Many other weapons have also found themselves in the hands of prisoners since the advent of drones. “There has been an increase in the number of substances and objects inside the walls for years,” said Mathieu Lavoie. They deliver to windows now. We are currently pioneers of Amazon in terms of drone deliveries. »