HMP inmates denied medical attention, rehab programs due to staff shortages, documents reveal [Video]

A collection of emails about staff shortages at Newfoundland and Labrador’s largest corrections facility reveals the far-ranging chaos caused by the lack of officers to guard over inmates, including allegations of denied medical attention and cancelled rehabilitation and educational programs. 

CBC News obtained those emails, dating back nearly two years, through an access-to-information request. They paint a picture of a prison that’s struggling to remain operational — and in some cases, isn’t.

Severe shortages of guards at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s have prompted prison-wide lockdowns for days on end, repeatedly, in recent years.

In one email about those lockdowns, sent in July to Supt. Dan Chafe, one HMP supervisor said 14 of the prison’s 29 guards weren’t able to work, leaving nearly half of the necessary position unfilled. Eleven of those 14 were …