North Fraser County Department of Corrections
The North Fraser County Department of Corrections (NFCDC) is an agency of the County Council of North Fraser County, the most populous county of the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC), which is responsible for operating all jails and remand centres in the county, as well as parole and probation offices across the several municipalities of the county. It is the second-largest corrections department in terms of number of personnel and facilities in BC, after BC Corrections, which operates the provincial correctional centres and the probation and parole programs of offenders released or diverted from incarceration in a provincial facility. The great majority (about 85%) of persons arrested and detained/remanded into custody in North Fraser County are held in one of seven NFCDC jails or the North Fraser Pretrial & Remand Centre in New Westminster.
Structure[edit | edit source]
- Executive Office of the North Fraser County Secretary of Corrections: The office and associated roles meant to maintain the Secretary of Corrections' awareness of and ability to relevantly and efficiently respond to the order of the day regarding correctional matters; the below offices attached to the Executive Office of the Secretary of Corrections act as enforcers and advisors of NFCDC policy, which is formulated by the Secretary of Corrections;
- General Staff of the Secretary of Corrections: Responsible for keeping the Secretary of Corrections updated on all relevant matters, as well as keeping and reminding the Secretary of Corrections and his immediate deputies of appointments and other engagements;
- Legal Advisory Office: Responsible for representing the Secretary of Corrections and by extension the entire NFCDC in all legal capacities; not to be confused with the Legal Liaison Office, which liaises with crown prosecution;
- Financial & Budget Office: Responsible for drafting the annual budget and handling all other financial and fundraising needs of the department, all for the review of the Secretary of Corrections;
- Office of the Deputy Secretary of Corrections: The executive office of the Deputy Secretary of Corrections, who handles many of the Secretary's duties to leave more time for the Secretary to review the most important matters;
- Office of the Second Deputy Secretary of Corrections: Same as above; the Secretary of Corrections currently has two deputies
- Central Administration Directorate: Handles the administrative side of the correctional system, including maintaining the database of current and former inmates/detainees, as well as all other administrative aspects of the correctional system in North Fraser County; it is based at the NFCDC headquarters in Burnaby;
- Booking and Processing Office: The central location which receives official records of inmates booked into a county jail or remand centre, sent by one of the facilities operated by the NFCDC upon incarceration of a new inmate;
- Personal Items Security Office: Responsible for confiscating all personal items of inmates and storing them securely and with top-quality organisation, ensuring all items are returned to inmates upon release;
- Healthcare Liaison Office: Responsible for liaising with both the public health authorities, as well as the private contractor which provides direct healthcare services to NFCDC inmates including access to physicians, namely Securitcare Healthcare Solutions, a company based in Calgary, Alberta.
- Legal Liaison Office: Responsible for liaising with the crown prosecution regarding upcoming proceedings for inmates, and passing this information to the relevant facility so as to ensure the inmate's attendance of the proceeding (most commonly a court appearance), whether at the county level, namely the North Fraser County Department of Justice or the provincial level, namely the Attorney General of British Columbia, or even the Minister of Justice of the Canadian federal government;
- Public Relations Office: Responsible for handling the public relations (PR) needs of the NFCDC, including preparing for and holding press conferences involving;
- Directorate of Jails: Operates all jails in North Fraser County, with all jail guards and civilian staff (including medical contractors) employed by the NFCDC's Directorate of Jails;
- Downtown Eastside Jail: Attached to the Criminal Court of North Fraser County as well as a major station of both the British Columbia Sheriff Service and the Lower Mainland Constabulary;