Kennedy contacted our office concerned with how he was treated by Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre. Kennedy was moved back to a unit where he felt he would not be safe. Within an hour of the move, Kennedy overdosed requiring hospital treatment. Feeling his mental and physical safety was in jeopardy, Kennedy asked us to investigate.

Through our review of Kennedy’s situation, we were told the centre found his safety concerns to be unfounded. However, we found there was no record or documentation as to how, or if, the centre responded to Kennedy’s safety concerns.

The centre informed us that it had requested an operational review regarding the overdose and we recommended it also include a review of the documentation process in relation to Kennedy’s complaint. This review found there was a lack of documented evidence of an investigation into Kennedy’s safety concerns.

To resolve the issue and to ensure this did not happen again, it was recommended that the Youth Custody Operations Manual be amended to ensure issues of personal safety are classified as a serious complaint and are no longer resolved informally, and staff be made aware of the change. The ministry accepted this recommendation and the policy change was approved by the Provincial Director of Youth Justice.