BPS unveils revamped detention centre

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This article was published 20/12/2024 (272 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Police Service (BPS) started using a new and upgraded detention centre this past October. It took two years to construct and cost $8.9 million — the bill footed by Manitoba’s provincial government.

The media were invited for a presentation at the new detention centre on Thursday, with Brandon Police chief Tyler Bates and deputy chief Greg Hebert leading a guided tour of the new facilities. It includes 18 new holding cells in addition to modern surveillance headquarters that can monitor just about every inch of the service’s facilities.

Compared with the holding cells used prior to these additions, arrestees will now have increased space in the cells flanked by heavy sliding doors instead of doors that could be swung open if enough force was imposed. The new doorways are also built in such a way that guards and other law enforcement personnel can provide food or blankets to arrestees without actually having to open or even unlock the gate.

“Having a facility that’s built to house detainees, designed appropriately with all of the safety measures in place is going to make it safer for everybody, for not just the people that we house, but also the security that works here, and the police officers that have to go into the cells to do an extradition if someone decides that they don’t want to leave,” said Hebert, whose been with BPS for 32 years.

These infrastructure upgrades are also a welcome addition for guards as they have reduced safety risks and offer increased efficiency in terms of processing the detainees.

“Biggest improvement that this facility makes over the previous one, is safety for both the commissioners and for the arrestees. The arrestees don’t have an opportunity to reach some of the elements that they would use to try some sort of self harm. And as far as the commissioners are concerned, when we would feed them, we had to open the door. To get them a mattress, we had to open the door. This kind of stuff doesn’t happen here anymore,” said Wade Gabriel, commissioner supervisor for the BPS detention section.

“Before we’d have to open the door for them of course, and sometimes they would receive information that wasn’t really to their liking. So of course, they would often be very irritated by that. And so retrieving the phone would often be a higher risk situation, and sometimes involving confrontation. And we just don’t have that type of stuff anymore,” said Gabriel, who explained that there must be at least two guards in the detention area to observe those being detained. He also highlighted that mandatory checks for each arrestee must occur every 15 minutes at the bare minimum.

“We do closed circuit TV surveillance in between the physical regular checks. The physical checks have to be done at a maximum of every 15 minutes,” added Gabriel.

The new detention cells measure approximately eight feet by 11 feet, including 11 feet in height, whereas the ones previously used were about seven by seven feet, including seven feet from the floor to the ceiling.

Moreover, BPS was running out of space and sufficient resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, at which point detainees were being sent to overcrowded emergency rooms, and were sometimes sent to Winnipeg when medical attention was required.

As part of the detention centre’s evolution, BPS also expects to have paramedics on location in the new year to serve the accused adequately without having to transport them to a separate location. This will also help alleviate pressure on local healthcare facilities, which are often understaffed.

“It gives us the opportunity to continue to grow our services — between paramedics and our police force,” said Terry Parlow, Brandon’s city manager and fire chief. These enhanced services will also trickle into emergency and health care, which is a big deal, he added.

“So that’s probably the biggest impact, is that you will not need the doctor to take time out of their busy schedule, which is at the ER, and do this work, which is very important, but you’ll still have a paramedic now that would be able to assist, instead of the doctors, the nurses and kind of, as we all know, the ER is actually extremely busy, and anything we can do to help them is better for all involved,” he added.

Still located at 1020 Victoria Avenue, BPS no longer has to worry about having enough holding space for the incarcerated, as it did in the past. Its facilities can now meet the community’s needs, and the new infrastructure will serve local law enforcement in the Wheat City well into the future.

» dstein@brandonsun.com

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