| The
application was dismissed. Richard J. asserted that the possession or
use of a personal computer and its programs by an inmate in the inmate's
cell is in the nature of a privilege rather than a right. Section 96(1)
of the CCR Regulations provides that the institutional head or a staff
member designated by the institutional head may prohibit the entry into
the penitentiary or the circulation within the penitentiary of computer
programs that the institutional head or staff member believes on reasonable
grounds would jeopardize the security of the penitentiary or the safety
of any person. In this case, the inmate was found to have violated a clear
and existing policy of the institution that was put in place to reduce
the risk of serious security incidents or, in the case of copyright violations,
to ensure compliance with the law. The offending programs may be present
both in the hard drive and/or diskettes. After a full review of the contents
of F's computer, the institutional head had reasonable grounds to believe
that at least one program presented a risk to the security of the institution
and that many other programs were either not authorized or did not comply
with Canadian copyright laws. Accordingly, Richard J. reached the conclusion
that the CSC did not make a reviewable error. |
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