NCJ Number
243156
Date Published
2011
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines strategies and training for Canadian correctional staff in addressing inmates' (both sexually and non-sexually motivated) in-prison "forcible confinements."
Abstract
A "forcible confinement" is defined as "a situation in which any person - staff, visitor, or inmate - is held against his or her will by an inmate(s) seeking to escape, gain concessions, or achieve other goals, such as publicizing a particular cause, gaining recognition, or creating change." Concern about such forcible confinements stemmed from a number of internal investigations conducted by the Correctional Service of Canada that determined there has been a trend for such "hostage-takers" to forcibly confine staff members for sexual gratification. The hostage-takers tend to target non-custodial female staff for the primary purpose of sexually assaulting them. The primary recommendation of a 1995 study of this issue was that staff receive training to recognize potential dangerous situations, how to deal more effectively with forcible confinements should they occur, as well as how to cope with the social and emotional aftermath of these critical incidents. Other recommendations pertain to more general issues related to both negotiation and crisis management. After profiling offenders who confine staff for both sexual and non-sexual motives, the chapter addresses the relevant training provided to staff members. Separate sections of the chapter are devoted to preventive preparation, distinctive strategies for dealing with a sexually motivated confiner and with a non-sexually motivated confiner, organizational responses, and the aftermath of confinement. 5 references