"What we're seeing is more of our correctional officers who go to work each day — providing public safety — off with PTSD and other mental health issues," Purdy told CBC News. Purdy says the officer-to-inmate ratios are notoriously high at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre, the new Okanagan Correctional Centre and the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam. Witnessing violent assaults between prisoners, as well as self-inflicted wounds and suicides, takes a heavy a toll on the mental health of workers, he said. Corrections closed nearly a dozen prisons in 2002, including the Vancouver Pretrial Services Centre and the Chilliwack Community Correctional Centre. Workers will stage a rally outside the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre on Friday to raise awareness.

Source: CBC News March 07, 2019 20:48 UTC