In June of 2021, the Union of Safety and Justice Employees (USJE) convened five roundtables with Parole Officers in Institutions and Communities across the country. The purpose of these roundtables was to canvass some of CSC’s most crucial frontline employees on: 1. how the pandemic and other changes within Corrections has created workload challenges in managing Canada’s federal offender population; 2. solicit their views on the efficacy of current resourcing tools within Corrections, and 3. identify solutions to improve and expand tools and resources where appropriate.
While workloads in many professions throughout the country have changed – sometimes dramatically during COVID – the reality is that when it comes to assuming responsibility for the thousands of federal offenders who need to re-integrate safely back into communities in Canada, ensuring that Parole Officers and their teams have the time and resources required to do the work is crucial.
The report reflects a summary of where both Institution and Community Parole Officers who participated in the Roundtables believe that the Correctional Service of Canada must change its approach in order to better invest in front-line employees and other rehabilitative staff so that they are properly equipped to support offenders, and protect and advance public safety.
DRAFT REPORT: USJE CONSULTATION ON PAROLE OFFICER WORKLOAD AND RESOURCE TOOLS