Speakers
Rosemary Ricciardelli
Parallel Workshops
The current study nuances how a ten-year partnered study with Correctional Services Canada (CSC) came to fruition, explicating how a relationship between the employer, union, and researcher survived amicably and grew. We then draw on self-reported mental health data for a sample of correctional officer recruits who entered the Correctional Service of Canada between 2018 and 2023 (n=792; 41% female and 59% male). Findings reveal a low prevalence of mental health disorders among new recruits, with 1.6% screening positive for posttraumatic stress disorder, 1.6% for major depressive disorder, and 1.8% for general anxiety disorder. Overall, 7.2% screened positive for any mental health disorder. In the area of suicidal behaviours, less than 2% reported ideation, attempts, or plans in the past year. Recruits who screened positive for mental health disorders or reported suicide behaviours were more likely to have former public safety or military experience, and cumulative exposure to trauma. We consider the implications of our findings within the changing staffing dynamics in correctional officer work, and nuance our findings for recruitment, training, and retaining staff.
Don Head was a Canadian career public servant and the Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), from June 27, 2008 to February 2, 2018. He is the longest serving Deputy Minister to lead the CSC. He worked mostly in the federal public service and began his career in 1978 as a correctional officer in CSC's Pacific Region. Between 1978 and 1995, he held operational and managerial positions in four federal institutions, Pacific Regional Headquarters, Ontario Regional Headquarters and the National Headquarters, in Ottawa. In 1995, Head moved to the Yukon Department of Justice where he was appointed Superintendent of the Whitehorse Correctional Centre then as the Director of Territorial Probation and Correctional Services. After three years, he moved to Saskatchewan where he joined the Saskatchewan Department of Corrections and Public Safety as Assistant Deputy Minister. In 2002, Head returned to the federal Correctional Service where he was hired as Senior Deputy Commissioner and lead several branches within the CSC, leading several major transformation initiatives.
In 2008 he was appointed by the Prime Minister to lead the Correctional Service of Canada. He has received many awards, through his career, including the Governor General's Corrections Exemplary Service Medal, with 2 Bars, the Public Service Award of Excellence for Diversity and Employment Equity, the Visible Minority Leadership and Excellence Award, The Aboriginal Network Award for Leadership and Excellence, the Royal Ottawa Hospital Award for Leadership in Mental Health, etc.