• An Advocate must accept that correctional policies will often not flow directly from law but rather may be in opposition in the prison environment. This may occur through deliberate and/or unintentional, misguided and/or misunderstood comprehension and interpretation of laws. It may also occur simply because the particular prison employee or regime is ignorant of the applicability of the law to prisoners. There are varying degrees of non-compliance with the law within prison environments.
• The less educated, less supported, less communicative prisoner will more often be the target of these misinterpretations of law and/or policy. The higher the security level that a prisoner is held under runs parallel to the degree of misguided and misunderstood interpretations of and/or ignorance of the law as applied by prison regimes to the prisoner .i.e. maximum-security prisoner; segregated prisoner
• An advocate must therefore be careful when making any assumption that policy is necessarily lawful or that policy quoted is formally authorized policy. For example, a prison employee may tell you that it is policy that no one can file a grievance for the prisoner, but the prisoner herself. This is clearly a statement in opposition to Section III of the CCRA which states:
  170.(1)The Correctional Investigator may commence an investigation (a) on the receipt of a complaint in writing by or on behalf of an offender

The Advocate, along with the prisoner, also has the right to accessibility of a full set of the Commissioner’s Directives (CDs) as per CCRA 98. (2). Remember however, that the right to accessibility does not mean that a complete updated set of CDs may be found in the prison library. This is a practical example of how many of us have inherent rights under the law, but this is not the same as the ability to access those rights. It is the Advocate who may best be able to assist and/or advise a prisoner in these areas.

It is therefore suggested that the advocate have some knowledge of and is able to reference the CCRA and the challenges to the CCRA put forward by CAEFS and the Canadian Bar Association if so required.

• Educate yourself

Familiarize yourself with an outline of the history of incarceration of women in Canada like the now classic, Too Few To Countⁱⁱ. Know that though federal and provincial prison regimes may often operate in differing proprietary ways they are always focused upon control. Read material prepared by Kim Pateⁱⁱⁱ, other advocacy groups and by abolitionists like Karlene Faith^iv, Ruth Morris and by prisoners. Many excellent edited collections are now available through different universities across the country.

Conclusion

Criminal law has basis in Roman law that is rooted in Hammurabai’s 1927 BC Law of Retaliation - “AN EYE FOR AN EYE.” Even after nearly 4,000 years there are still many who subscribe to this form of “justice” and in fact at present the subscribers’ numbers appear growing. Even if a part of you believes in a form of retribution to right wrongs done but also believes that permanent psychological, physical or mental impairment should not result, then prisoner advocacy is the correct path to improving the outcome.

In many ways, the position of prison advocate and the activities of advocacy are among the most abstract conundrums. When should an advocate speak out? What are the “unwritten rules” with regard to assisting prisoners? When deciding to speak out, who is the dialogue best directed to? What are the repercussions if one stands against a seemingly insurmountable bureaucracy as well-funded, staffed and technologically supported as prison regimes?

An advocate is often caught between “a rock and a hard place”, not knowing if one’s actions are indeed helping or may be hindering the process of seeking justice. And it is true that sometimes one believes one is performing an act of advocacy but in fact is only maintaining “the status quo.” You will learn by experience what is what. Ask your peers for advice without divulging the person involved if confidence was a precondition of your advocacy.

At this point you may say, “yes, what’s the point of carrying on when it seems that the more I try to help, the more it seems I don’t understand why it is not helping.” I heard someone say the other day that; “There are no perfect people, only perfect intentions.” This is a credo one can live and work by. Just do your best and be sincere and you will gain respect from all involved. I hope that even one advocate may have a clearer idea of what is facing her/him when venturing within the walls of the growth industry called corrections and have confidence that the efforts of all advocates are sources of wonder and inspiration to those who are locked inside the walls.

This material is presented from the viewpoint of a lifer. You may not wholly agree with the contents but I am hoping that there will be some worthwhile information within it, such that one prisoner or member of a prisoner’s family in need of an advocate may be assisted in some way. There is not one prisoner who would not benefit.

We thank you for your wonderful examples of humanity.

Shaw, Margaret.2000. “Women, Violence and Disorder in Prisons” in An Ideal Prison. Eds. Hannah-Moffat, Kelly and Margaret Shaw. Fernwood Publishing: Halifax.
Adelberg, Ellen, and Claudia Currie (eds.). 1987. Too Few To Count: Canadian Women in Conflict With the Law. Vancouver: Press Gang Publishers.
ⁱⁱPate, Kim. 2000. CAEFS. Executive Director’s Report. Annual General Meeting. Sydney.June 3.
_____. 1998. CAEFS’ Position Paper
_____. 1998. Five Year Review of the CCRA.
Pate, Kim and Derrick Anne S. 1996. Final Submissions of the CAEFS (to The Royal Inquiry on Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston.
^ivFaith, Karlene. 2000. Reflections on Inside/Out Organizing. Berkeley: Social Justice (in Press)
_____. 1999. “Transformative Justice Vs Re-entrenched Correctionalism: The Canadian Experience.” In S.Cook and S. Davies, (eds.), Harsh Punishments. Boston: Northeastern Press.
_____. 1993. Unruly Women: The Politics and Confinement of Resistance. Vancouver: Press Gang Publishers
^vMorris, Ruth. 2000. Just Give Us The Facts: Statistics and Facts on Criminal Justice. Toronto: Rittenhouse.
_____.1999. Why Transformative Justice?
_____.1999. The Penal System: Linchpin of the Corporate Agenda
_____.1999. . 7 Steps From Misery Justice to Social Transformation A Practical Path to. Transformative Justice
^vRyan, Mick. 1978. “The Acceptable Pressure Group.” Inequality in the Penal Lobby: A Case Study of the Howard League and Radical Alternatives to Prison. (RAP) Westmead: Saxon. House.