Inmates riot in gang-affiliated block at Headingley jail

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This article was published 04/05/2010 (5723 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — Nine inmates within a segregated unit at the Headingley Correctional Centre staged a small riot Monday night, causing damage to property but no significant injuries.

Superintendent Greg Skelly said the inmates were allowed to rampage, damaging furniture in the cell block located in the basement of the facility, for several hours until they wore themselves out.

Headingley Correctional Centre superintendent Greg Skelly said the incident started around 8:20 p.m. Monday and lasted until early Tuesday morning in one of the prison’s basement units. It involved about nine inmates in a space meant to hold ten inmates, he said.

Skelly said the inmates wore themselves out, adding that was when the decision was made to send in the Corrections Emergency Response Unit.

"We extracted them from the unit and it was done without resistance," Skelly said, describing the response of staff as "outstanding."

One inmate suffered a cut on his hand, he said.  No damage estimate was available Tuesday, and Mounties were at Headingley investigating the incident. The Justice department said an internal review will be taken to determine the cause of the disturbance.

“It was contained right from the get-go,” Skelly said. 

The jail held 753 prisoners Tuesday, significantly more than the approximately 485 men the facility is meant to hold.

Block 10, where the incident happened, is the oldeset part of the jail. It houses members of the African Mafia street gang who are either sentenced or in Headingley on remand.

Ken Crawford, Manitoba Government Employees Union corrections staff representative, said the latest incident means seven cells are not available for prisoners, which puts further stress on an already overcrowded facility.

“Somebody’s going to get hurt,” he said. “Our correctional officers continue to carry the burden of a system that is not keeping up.”

Crawford said he wants to see more investments in prison facilities by the government.