Correctional officer stabbed in the face at B.C. maximum-security prison, union says

Kent Institution in the Fraser Valley of B.C. is seen in this file photo. (CTV)

A correctional officer was stabbed by an inmate at B.C.’s only maximum-security federal prison on Monday, according to his union, which described the incident as a random attack.

John Randle, the regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers for the Pacific Region, told CTV News the inmate used a handmade weapon to stab the officer in the jaw below his ear.

He said to the union’s knowledge, the officer and inmate didn’t have any issues with one another before the assault.

The Kent Institution staff member was taken to hospital and is now recovering at home.

“The physical injury itself will heal. It always sucks to have a stab wound in your face, you don’t know what the scarring is going to be like, but it’s really the psychological, emotional stuff that we’re working with him on now,” Randle said.

In a statement regarding the incident, Correctional Service Canada said the assailant was identified and “the appropriate actions will be taken.”

According to Randle, the inmate was moved to a “structured intervention unit,” which replaced “administrative segregation” units after that type of solitary confinement was abolished in Canada in 2019.

He said the union is pushing for the assailant to be transferred to the “special handling unit” in Quebec, the highest security facility in the country which is reserved for inmates that are deemed too dangerous for other maximum-security prisons.

The Agassiz RCMP and the institution are investigating the assault. The CSC said it will review the circumstances of the incident and “take the appropriate measures” to prevent a similar one in the future.

“The safety and security of institutions, their staff, and the public remains the highest priority in the operations of the federal correctional system,” it wrote in its statement Tuesday.

It’s possible the accused will be charged and go to court, but Randle said Crown counsel often decline to prosecute when the suspect is already in prison, citing a lack of public interest.

He said he wants to see inmates held accountable for their actions in prison.

“When they do this stuff, there’s no consequences,” Randle said. “It’s concerning, because eventually that inmate will be released into society. If he thinks that those actions are allowed to occur while in prison, how’s he going to act when he’s back on the street?”