Out of retirement, prison boss Don Roche tackles new challenges in old facilities
How do you bring a 19th-century prison into the future? Short answer: you don't, superintendent says
When Don Roche began working as a correctional officer, he felt quite fine handing out three packages of tobacco, papers and a razor blade to each inmate — it was the Friday night norm.
"I was equipped with nothing — I had my uniform. That was it," said Roche, Newfoundland and Labrador's newest superintendent of prisons.
"To me, that was great. I never, ever felt threatened."
That was in 1982. Times have certainly changed.
Today, Her Majesty's Penitentiary is faced with increasing violence, which has brought feuding factions from the street into a Dickens-era jail, offenders racked with mental illness, and people with severe addictions to deadly drugs.
Forget about a new prison — for now
Roche, who has a background emphasizing training and suicide prevention, projects a friendly authority as he offers up stories of years gone by, when HMP was a very different beast and home to a very different kind of inmate.
After more than 30 years on the job and having worked just about every role within the province's largest prison, Roche retired as assistant superintendent in 2013.
When former superintendent of prisons Owen Brophy retired last fall, it opened up the door for Roche to come back.
He's blunt about what he expects from the men and women in his purview, what challenges lie ahead and the reality of the modern inmate.
"The plan is not moving the penitentiary into the future. The plan is moving the staff into the future," Roche said of the largest men's prison in Newfoundland and Labrador.
For years, Roche — and many others — waited for a new penitentiary, and it never came.
HMP is infamous for its age and condition. With parts dating back to the mid-1800s, there have been numerous calls for an upgraded facility.
Now, Roche says it's time to face facts: the province's current fiscal situation won't allow a new prison any time soon.
And if you choose to work at the aging facility, the sooner you come to that realization, the better, he said.
'No major renovations … that would help'
"How do we get our staff to accept the fact that what we have — status quo — will probably get some makeovers and stuff but there's going to be no major renovations to that facility?" he said.
"There's no major renovations to that facility that would help."
There are similar problems in some of the other correctional facilities that Roche oversees.
The Women's Correctional Centre in Clarenville is often at capacity and the west coast facility is a barracks-style building that is not equipped with the same security measures as its larger counterpart in St. John's.
But Roche is adamant that changing the mentality of those who work in those buildings will create positive change.
Prison rife with mental illness, addictions challenges
Like many other correctional institutions across the country, HMP is feeling a shift in the challenges staff are faced with.
They've become pharmacists — ensuring inmates take their medication, police officers — stopping violence, and social workers to some of the most vulnerable.
Recently, the province announced sweeping changes to disciplinary segregation.
New rules were put in place to ensure inmates with mental health issues are not be placed in segregation, that inmates serving more than 30 days in segregation during a term of incarceration will be referred to a committee on complex needs, and that physical conditions in the segregation area should be humane.
"That still poses challenges for us. We are in the same facility but now again, like I spoke to about staff, the mindset has to change," Roche said.
"You can change the policies all you like, but if your staff are not willing to take those policies and work within them to make change [it won't work]."
But Roche said there is positive change, too, like having greater outreach with outside community groups and agencies.
"I'm trying to get best practices in here, I'm trying to get staff as well-trained as they can," he said.
"I want them to get up in the morning, put their uniform on and want to come to work."
And having been there himself, Roche said he understands the emotional toll the job can take on correctional officers.
He's encouraging officers experiencing mental health challenges to seek out help.
"If you're not talking about that, if you're not reaching out to someone, it's going get you. It's going to haunt you."
As for his time in the new role, Roche said he would like to leave having known he's left a positive impact on those who work in corrections.
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