Burnside inmate says they don’t know why the facility is on lockdown
Posted Sep 26, 2014 10:22:01 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A lockdown at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside has entered its fifth day, and an inmate said things are getting tense inside the jail.
Jeremy, a prisoner at the facility, called into The Rick Howe Show and said inmates have been locked down in their cells since Monday and they don’t know why.
“First they were doing a search for extra clothing and bedding because they’ve got a certain budget they’re supposed to live by,” Jeremy said. “Now, they’re saying it’s a contraband search.”
He said prisoners were told yesterday the lockdown would be over by suppertime that day, but it hasn’t ended yet.
He said after 24-hours of lockdown, inmates are supposed to be given an hour out of their cells.
“We were locked down at Monday night at 10 o’clock, we didn’t get out of our cells until 5:30 on Wednesday and they only gave us a half-hour each”, he said.
Jeremy thinks inmates are getting picked on and added, “We just want this to end.”
Provincial corrections department director Sean Kelly says the purpose of the lockdown is to conduct a ‘top-to-bottom’ sweep of the facility, searching for contraband as well as nuisance items and damaged property.
“We’re not just looking for potential contraband items that could pose a hazardous risk, we’re also looking at nuisance type of items — things like extra clothing and bedding,” said Kelly.
Kelly says prisoners are only required to get a half hour of fresh air per day, and that’s what they’re getting. During that time, he says they’re allowed to shower and use the phone.
He can’t say when the lockdown will end.
