Deplorable conditions at lockup

A Victoria woman is speaking out about the way she was treated by the court system in Kelowna.

Photo: Castanet Staff - File Photo

Kelowna jail cells

Connie Sargent, 48, was arrested in Kelowna Sept 24 for allegedly breaching conditions of an earlier fraud conviction.

According to her Victoria-based lawyer, Donald McKay, the conditions of her incarceration at the RCMP cells in Kelowna were deplorable.

Through her lawyer, Sargent complained that she had been unable to shower and wasn't even provided with a toothbrush during her nearly one week spent in lockup.

"Ms. Sargent described there being vomit on the floor and on the toilet and when she asked for it to be cleaned up it wasn't," says McKay.

"I don't know what sort of services they have available to them for janitorial and cleanup but to that extent that is not an acceptable situation, even for a police lockup."

Sargent was also denied a request to contact McKay and instead was put in touch with a local lawyer.

"To be fair to the police services, they're not equipped to house people the way a remand centre would be. It's not unusual that there wouldn't be shower facilities or toothbrushes because they are not expected to hold people more than overnight," says McKay.

Sargent apparently was taken to the courthouse the day following her arrest but did not appear before a judge.

That appearance happened Friday afternoon when, according to McKay, it was too late for her to be transferred to another facility.

She was returned to lockup for the weekend before being transferred to Kamloops Monday and finally to the Alouette Regional Correctional Centre for Women in Maple Ridge.

While the circumstances that faced Sargent were extreme, McKay says they are not unusual for female arrestees.

He says facilities available for men and women are different around the province, which creates the problem Sargent faced.

"The police cells aren't intended to be used for housing people long term, but the difficulty I see, is that if the government isn't going to provide for either proper transportation overnight to the lower mainland or facilities around the province the same way they have them set up for men, then they have to properly equip the police stations as remand centres and modify them to have holding cells that have appropriate facilities for sanitary and humane housing," says McKay.

According to city officials, the new Kelowna RCMP Detachment building will have prisoner shower facilities.

Kelowna RCMP were not available to comment on the specifics of Sargent's accusations.

Sargent has not filed a formal complaint.