Each year staff from the Office of the Manitoba Ombudsman meets with staff from government departments and agencies, to help them more fully understand our role and responsibilities in investigating complaints. We offer educational training sessions in various parts of the province.

In particular my office has been providing this type of educational outreach to all correctional officer recruit classes for the past several years. These sessions have been well received by Manitoba Corrections and provide an excellent opportunity to share our experiences within the context of corrections.

Our office recognizes that life in jail is highly regulated and strictly controlled. There are rules governing almost every aspect of inmates’ daily routines, including their interaction with correctional staff. The number of contacts between inmates and staff, combined with the many rules necessary to maintain order and security has in the past resulted in a high volume of complaints to our office.

Given this challenging environment, my office and Manitoba Corrections felt it was important for all correctional staff to understand the role and function of the Manitoba Ombudsman in relation to correctional complaint resolution. However, given the size of some correctional centres and the hundreds of individuals employed by Manitoba Corrections, it is not possible for our office to provide onsite presentations to all staff.

In 2008, our office developed the Correctional Officers Presentation, a training tool that would be accessible to all correctional staff in the field.

This presentation can be utilized by Manitoba Corrections throughout the year. We believe that this information is an excellent resource for correctional staff that have daily interaction with individuals incarcerated in a provincial correctional centre.