Bob Pringle, Children's Advocate, concerned about Youth Farm closure

After receiving a tour yesterday, Saskatchewan's children's advocate is speaking out against a plan to move young offenders from Saskatoon's Yarrow Youth Farm to Kilburn Hall, a higher security facility.

Bob Pringle is writing a letter to the Ministry of Justice, asking that government rethink its plans. Pringle believes the Youth Farm's programming will not be able to survive at Kilburn.

"It's a jail," said Pringle. "And it does what a jail is supposed to do--provide secure custody for high risk youth. Yarrow is not a jail."

The provincial government is closing the Yarrow Youth Farm at the end of March. The province says the youth correctional system is at 50 percent capacity right now. Closing down Yarrow, as well as Orcadia Youth Residence in Yorkton, will make the system more efficient and cost effective by moving young offenders into other institutions.

However, Pringle said Yarrow and Kilburn Hall are two very different places. The Yarrow Youth Farm is a minimum security 'open custody' facility, where inmates are allowed to leave the premises for school and other programming. Kilburn Hall is a 'closed custody' facility, surrounded by a fence, and a system of locked doors.

The Ministry plans to retrofit Kilburn Hall to make the facility to house open custody offenders. On Thursday, Kilburn staff took Pringle on a tour of the facility, to show him what changes will be made. He came away unimpressed.

"By dressing the rooms up with a bed and a dresser, it's not going to fix the problems," he said.

Pringle has a number of concerns with the new plan. He's worried the girl's open custody ward will be located right next to the entrance to closed custody. He's also worried about other issues. That includes open custody inmates not having access to kitchen facilities.

Yarrow's youth programming has a good reputation, especially in First Nations circles. Pringle doesn't think the specialized program will work at Kilburn. He said Kilburn's sweatlodge facility will only be available for high risk youth, not open custody inmates.

Ultimately, Pringle believes the changes will get in the way of the rehabilitation of young people.

"These residences take the Saskatchewan youth justice system in a direction that is really going backwards," he said. "It will erode the capacity to successfully and safely rehabilitate young people and reintegrate them back into the community."

The Justice Ministry said it looks forward to receiving Pringle's letter, and will take his recommendations seriously. However, the provincial government has no plans to change its strategy.

"That doesn't change the fundamental issue here," said Associate Deputy Minister Dennis Cooley. "We have 253 available beds in the youth system, and 124 youth."