More inmates have mental illness, correctional service needs more resources.

Ottawa -- The federal Correctional Service Investigator reports that that the proportion of federal offenders with significant, identified mental health needs has more than doubled over the past decade. The Investigator reports that

* the Service's five treatment centres are not resourced at levels comparable to provincial forensic facilities;

* psychologists are primarily engaged in risk assessment for conditional release decisionmaking as opposed to treatment and rehabilitation; and,

* there is no specific training for front-line correctional staff on mental illness

Correctional Service Canada requires:

* Significant investments are required comprehensive clinical intake assessment;

* specific requirements for enhancing the Service's current Treatment Centres;

* intermediate mental health care units within existing institutions to provide on-going treatment and assessment during the period of incarceration; and, community mental health services to support offenders on conditional release

* the Service must have a greater capacity to respond to the needs of offenders to gain access to mental health services and addiction treatment;

* The CSC, according to the investigator, has made significant progress in some key areas of concern. The Service

* will initiate Canada's first safe tattooing pilot project in six penitentiaries, as a measure to curtail the spread of infectious diseases;

* has made some important gains in compliance with "use of force" policy and procedural requirements;

* has expanded the use of agreements with Aboriginal communities for the custody and supervision of Aboriginal offenders in the Prairie Region and Aboriginal-specific programming provided by the Service appears to be increasingly well received by Aboriginal offenders;

* shows measurable improvements in the timely processing at the institutional level of inmates' claims against the Crown; and,

* will close of the last co-located unit, where women offenders were detained within otherwise male penitentiaries.