By Rachel Dares
In response to several documents revealing a “past policy” by Correctional Service of Canada to not locate parole offices within 200 m of any school or day care, the correctional service now denies such a policy ever existed.
“There is no such policy. It doesn’t exist,” said Holly Knowles, a spokeswoman for correctional services, when asked to describe the policy.
But one resident, who has been pushing for the office to move, says that’s a lie.
The department broke its own rules, whether official or unofficial, when it opened a parole office in September of last year on Gilmour Street, only 80 m from Elgin Street Public School, said Albert Galpin in an interview. He is an advocate for neighbourhood safety and a parent of three children who attend the school.
“It’s written in black and white,” said Galpin, who obtained the documents through an access to information request. “For that spokesperson to say that there’s no policy, she’s making it up.”
One e-mail from January 2003 said: “Although not written down anywhere, past policy is to stay at least 200 m from any school or day care.”
When asked specifically about this reference in an interview, Knowles said no official policy has ever existed and refused to comment on whether the 200 m rule is an unofficial policy.
According to Louis Facchini, the co-president of the Centretown Citizens Community Association, the problem is not the majority of parolees who are trying to re-enter society, but rather the potential for one dangerous parolee to visit the location while elementary school children pass by.
The parole office provides important services, but should be moved downtown to reduce the risks, Facchini says.
However, the parole office will not be moving at this time, Knowles said.
Facchini says he can understand the parole office’s position.
“If they move, then they may be admitting to some sort of potential danger of having a parole office in a residential neighbourhood,” Facchini says. “If they start to waver here, then they may be forced to waver elsewhere.”
Knowles said the distance from a school or day care is just one factor considered when choosing a location for a parole office.
The location on Gilmour Street made sense because of the nearby police station and many of the offenders live in the community, Knowles said.
However, a document obtained by Galpin states, “It is reasonable to conclude that there is a potential security risk regardless of where this office is located.”
School trustee Joan Spice said in an interview that the location of the parole office across the street from an elementary school is inappropriate. Parents are worried and are finding alternative routes for their children to walk to school, she said.
“They have no official policy on locating parole offices, but the fact is it’s been a past practice and it’s common sense,” Spice said. “(The documents show) they’ve got it in their own internal policy so they knew it was an issue.”
Knowles said public safety remains a top priority for correctional services. “If there is a particular offender who may pose a risk to children, they will not be seen at the office. Bottom line,” she said.
Galpin says he wishes the federal government would listen to the concerns of the residents and relocate.
The parole office will be a primary issue for many Centretown residents in the next federal election, he says.
“It’s not up to a bunch of bureaucrats to say whether or not it’s going to stay. It’s up to the residents and the people that we elect,” Galpin says. “Everybody has said it’s inappropriate and should be relocated, so it will be relocated.”