About the process
This step took concrete form in 2004 with the signing of agreements:
By signing these agreements, each facility undertook to create a local joint committee, called the " intervention support group " (ISG), responsible for identifying concrete intervention targets that reflected its particular situation, prioritizing the actions to be taken, and implementing these actions. Each of these committees was made up of a local union representative, management representatives, correctional officers, and members of the research team. These committees were in turn supported by a" coordination group" (CG), responsible for achieving the objectives on a provincial scale; it comprised employer and union representatives from the three pilot facilities, a ministry representative, a provincial trade union representative, and researchers.
These agreements also involved the appointment of a project coordinator, a commitment to support and facilitate implementation of the measures retained in the action plans, and the release of the personnel required to sit on the committees.
On the back of each of the agreements was a timeline mapping out the different activities in the five-step process.
Open and transparent communication with both senior management at each of the facilities and all the correctional officers was maintained throughout the process using different procedures. For example, regular meetings were held with senior management and the unions to keep them informed of progress being made. The minutes of the meetings were posted in public areas to make them accessible to all.
Lastly, the research team issued a “newsletter” entitled INFO-Ripost, to keep all correctional officers not participating in the work of the internal committees informed as well.
Issued at each step in the process both locally in the participating facilities and provincially, this newsletter achieved several objectives: :
1. Provided information about the process undertaken (beginning and end)
2. Raised staff awareness of workplace violence in the prison setting
3. Invited the officers to participate in the research activities planned for the purpose of evaluating the process
(questionnaires, interviews, and discussions - step 5)
4. Provided information on the process under way and its results:
a. Announced any changes implemented, both locally and provincially
b. Disclosed the results of the process evaluation conducted in the study