Burnside jail camera 'distorted' when Eliahs Kent mistakenly released

Cameras at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility weren't working the day an inmate charged with attempted murder was mistakenly released from custody, CBC News has learned.

Eliahs Knedsen Kent escaped Nov. 7 by posing as another inmate slated to be released that day.

His ID wristband wasn't checked, which sparked an internal investigation after he was caught. Surveillance video was gathered during the course of that investigation.

Internal documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act indicate the surveillance footage from the day was "distorted" and the time stamps on the recordings were wrong.

"There is a mechanical issue with this camera," reads an email.

"The time display on the CCTV cameras were not synchronized," reads another.

"Do you recall the last time you synced the camera clock with the time clocks?" Scott Keefe, a senior bureaucrat, wrote in an email.

Bill Smith, executive director of correctional services in Nova Scotia, told CBC News on Friday he's not sure how often the cameras are checked or how long that camera had been broken. The malfunctioning camera has since been replaced.

"It's important to know there are hundreds of cameras in Burnside and they do malfunction from time to time," he said.

Smith would not comment about Kent's case because it's still before the courts. The department isn't blaming his mistaken release on the cameras.

Burnside an 'ongoing saga'

The internal investigation concluded Kent's mistaken release was due to "staff failing to follow policy and procedures."

"They're there to monitor the activity and movements within the facility," said Smith.

"They don't necessarily have anything to do with the security of anybody breaching the facility but they are there to record all the activities so we have reference if we have to review an instance."

The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, which represents correctional officers, said the broken cameras highlight a safety issue.

"It's assaults, it's contraband. It's assaults on staff, inmate on inmate. It's the people coming and going — it's a lot of interaction," said Joan Jessome, the president of the union.

"It's important that if this is a device we can use to secure the safety of the inmate, public and the staff, then it needs to be upright, it needs to be working, constantly working, it needs to be checked. And it needs to be updated when technology becomes old."

Allan MacMaster, the Progressive Conservative justice critic, called it an "ongoing saga."

The Department of Justice said it's working to replace every camera at the Burnside jail.

Policy do over

The department is also updating its policies after a different inmate at the same jail was accidentally released 12 hours early.

Robert Eisnor served time on weekends and was released Dec. 8 at 6 a.m. instead of 6 p.m. A review of the incident said staff didn't confirm the time he was supposed to be released.

According to the report, workers also said they were overwhelmed by the number of offenders in the discharge area at the time.

As a result, Eisnor was able to slip his ID bracelet off without anyone noticing. The computer at the desk was also not working.

"It seems to be story after story coming out of Burnside," said MacMaster.

"The public is very interested if that jail can't keep people behind bars behind bars."