Okanagan Correctional Centre Readies for Inmates

OLIVER, B.C. — The new 378-cell, high-security Okanagan Correctional Centre (OCC) located on 36 acres of the Osoyoos Indian Band Reserve north of Oliver, was completed on time and on budget in September. The project kicked off in May 2014, and correctional officials and new staff members are currently completing system testing and staff familiarization. The first inmate transfers are slated to begin in January 2017.

The $200 million, state-of-the-art facility is the first provincial correctional center in the Okanagan area and the province’s tenth overall. The OCC represents about half of the almost 800 cells BC Corrections will have added since 2008 under the largest capital expansion plan in its history, according to a statement by the province’s Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Under the public-private partnership (P3) agreement, the Vancouver office of Plenary Justice will design, build, finance, maintain and operate the new facility over a 30-year operating term, according to the firm’s website.

Already regarded as a strong economic driver for the South Okanagan area, the correctional facility will include 11 individual housing units and created an estimated 500 direct and 500 indirect jobs during construction. Upon completion, the OCC will also employ approximately 300 South Okanagan residents as correctional officers and in various administrative and support roles, according to a statement. By July, the facility had secured approximately one-third of its necessary positions, including hiring new Warden Steve DiCastri, a 30-year corrections veteran who served as warden of the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre in Maple Ridge, B.C., for more than a decade.

Member of the province’s Legislative Assembly Linda Larson, Boundary-Similkameen, said in a statement that, from an employment perspective, the OCC will benefit the community for years to come. “While related construction jobs begin to wind down, hundreds of long-term, well-paying jobs are being filled, bringing an additional, major source of stable employment to our region,” she said.

Alongside boosting employment, maximizing energy efficiency and the use of local lumber products during construction, the OCC is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification and is using wood in accordance with the B.C. Building Code and in keeping with government’s Wood First Act. The finished facility incorporates ample natural light, offers improved indoor air quality, and is expected to use less energy and water than comparable facilities, lowering the building’s anticipated operational costs.

Programs within the facility will be centered on reducing reoffending, such as violence prevention and relationship skills, substance abuse management and educational and vocational programs that help provide inmates with employable job skills for their release into the community, according to a statement by Plenary Justice.

Okanagan community members will be able to tour the facility and learn about its operations on Oct. 21 to Oct. 23.