Commissioner's Speeches

The Corrections Profession:
A Framework for Flexible Thinking

Remarks by:

Lucie McClung
Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada

October 29, 2003
At ICPA's 5^th Annual General Meeting and Conference
"Consolidation: Sustainable Improvement"
October 26-31, 2003
Miami, Florida


Check against delivery

Situating my comments

Good day ladies and gentlemen… colleagues,

Allow me to describe - very briefly - the Canadian Public Service and correctional contexts to better situate my comments about what I believe is required for leadership today.

First of all, the rate of incarceration in Canada has been decreasing - it is higher than that of European countries but less than our neighbour the USA - it now sits at 102 per 100,000. This is consistent with the decrease in crime over the last decade - sometimes we see that these trends do not unfold in parallel - in Canada it did.

Secondly, Canada's correctional policy is the following: public safety will be better achieved through the gradual and structured release of offenders into the community. It therefore demands intervention geared towards addressing criminogenic factors at an individual level both during the incarceration phase and upon re-entry to the community.

It also recognizes that incarceration - in and of itself - is not good enough to truly contribute to the long term safety of our communities. It is also predicated upon the principle that interventions need to be research-based.

I am not saying here that the policy isn't controversial, or that all decisions are always research-based - as any public institution, we necessarily must take into account new and often not fully articulated situational factors …as well, are going through parliamentary reviews of the impact of implementation of our legislation.

I also need to say that the Federal Public Service of Canada - of which we are part - has recognized the need for Human Resource Renewal / largely because of recruitment and retention difficulties, cumbersome processes and, the recognition that within the next 3 years or so, many senior officials will retire - or so the saying goes…

There are therefore widespread initiatives geared towards ensuring that the PS has the capacity that it needs to continue to respond to Canadians' needs.

There is also much discussion about governance: what principles must underpin governance systems (a beginning of the answer (and a good one in my view) lies in the recently distributed Code of Ethics and Values); what components form part of senior officials' responsibilities - what is Canada's Acc Mgmt Framework…Rethinking the relationship between governance systems - institutions, Parliamentarians… and citizens. Citizens want to be part of decisions that impact their lives - our systems and structures and our processes must more fully take this into account.

So, against this backdrop - what is my thinking on leadership in corrections?

Introduction -- Learning to Ski

First, let me tell a story! And, in the Canadian tradition, it HAS to involve SNOW!! Have you ever skied? It involves strapping 2 long pieces of wood on your feet, going to the top of the mountain and then, you aim for the bottom, all the while hoping that you get there in one piece… And, because you do, you do it again…

Canadians call this FUN!

But let's unravel what really did happen.

The first thing that you do - is take lessons - the less the better.

After a few runs, you start to feel a little more comfortable, even a bit brave.

During this learning process, you rely heavily on what you were taught by your ski instructor. Over time, however, you start seeking out and learning from other sources, such as friends who have been skiing longer than you or experts from the ski channel on TV.

Miraculously, your brain somehow ingests all of this information and begins to make decisions and policy statements about how you will approach skiing:

• Will you be cautious in your skiing or daring?
• Will you be able to recognize obstacles before you collide?
• Will you seek others to add to you fun?
• How do you measure up - to whom? Are you progressing?

In addition to the decisions about what your skiing style and approach will be in general terms, you continue to make revisions based on the specific mountain and even the specific trail you are skiing.

In short, based on the knowledge and skills you learned from - hopefully - a skilled professional, off you go to acquire new information to help you conquer a mountain.

With skiing, you learn that you are never a master - you learn to live with the knowledge and sometimes anxiety that you will never be at the top of your game if you stop paying attention, if you stop learning, if you stop practising, … if you stop doing.

So it is with leadership.

I believe that leaders must first and foremost be respectful of the obligations towards lifelong learning and to the Office he/she holds.

There is much better terminology in the science of public administration. The Public Service of Canada - in each senior leader - is looking for the following: In corrections framework, we are looking for these attributes in Wardens (governors) and managers in the community:

1. Cognitive capacity - creativity being a facet … there is no substitute to knowing your stuff - and seeking to know more.

2. Future-building competency
To truly understanding the Mission of the organization, not only to translate it into daily actions but to shape opportunities for the future.

3. Action management // walking the talk
Whether you like it or not - whether you are having a good day or a bad day - people are looking to you and at you.

4. Relationship competencies
I would like to talk more about this - we are a people business - this is about truly recognizing that it's all about people.

5. Personal competencies that refer to values and ethics.
We know that in corrections, it is not only the result that counts. Attention to how the result has been achieved is also of the utmost importance, largely because of the power relationship that must be managed.

I would like to talk about the 4^th competency - the relationship competency.

I chose this one because I believe that correctional systems must get much better at this.

Let me explain.

The essence of corrections demands perhaps more than ever before the careful management of relationships:

1. From the perspective of overall policy -

a) we must manage all linkages between incarceration and return to the community to respond to our mandate. This involves relationships between CJ partners so that it is congruent to citizens, between the institution and community leaders to ensure fact-based conversations and to continue dialogue about our common challenges…

b) to ensure that "knowledge" is the basis of policy-making

2. From the perspective of programming - as we, on an individual basis, prepare the offender to be able to resume a number of relationships… Prepare the offender and prepare those who will receive him/her after, often, a long absence. What are their needs?

3. From the perspective of management - where more and more, we need to listen and take more fully account of the voices out there - the loud voices which tend to call for punishment only - and the softer voices…

If we don't do this with focus, with energy, with conviction, I am worried about the viability/sustainability of the knowledge that we have gained… and ultimately, I am worried about the Quality of Life of our communities.

Conclusion

In this spirit, I think that we need to ensure more visible, more integrated management of relationships at the international level. I worry that our voices and energy are dissipated at the moment.

An integrated platform for discussion could do a few things:

It could integrate our learning into a STRONG policy framework - one to which we can all point to as THE professional stand.

It could allow us to take greater advantage of our respective investments in research and management practices, to identify where we should focus our leadership attention to the profession of corrections to better frame our individual efforts.

I leave you on this note and I hope that we will have time to discuss these ideas throughout the conference.

I thank you for listening to my ideas (and I would be happy to take any questions you may have in the little time left here).