Gaols that could not be renovated to
accommodate the treatment approach were
closed in 1959. Both the Nelson Gaol and
Prince George Women’s Gaol were below
capacity prior to their closure. This was because
of the policy to transfer long-term inmates to
Oakalla where there were facilities for a
constructive program. Closing these facilities
displaced personnel who started corrections
work in the previous era.

New developments happened at the
institutional level in 1959:

« A form of conditional release was
implemented at New Haven. A select group
of trainees were released into the community
to work during the day.

» A specialized unit known as Twin Maples
Correctional Facility for Women was
established for adult female offenders and
opened as an alcohol treatment centre.

= The institution was the first
minimum-security facility for adult female
offenders. It provided treatment tailored to
inmates from the women’s section at Oakalla

who were considered good security risks.

— af a i! 2 a
Lynda Wiliams Community Correctional Centre
(date: unknown) Corrections Branch Archives

Many of these women were first or less
experienced offenders.

» Two forestry camps—Centre Creek Camp and
Pine Ridge Camp—began operation. Both
camps were administered through Oakalla.

The last hanging occurred at Oakalla Prison
farm when Leo Mantha, aged 33, was hanged
on April 28, 1959. A former correctional officer
who started working at Oakalla in 1953 was
present when hangings were still taking place.
Senior staff were asked to participate, but
generally tried to avoid it.

At first, the correctional officer was nonchalant.
It was “an experience that I didn’t think would
bother me at Oakalla,” he said. Experience
taught him differently, however. “I would have
tried to find a hole to climb into” to avoid
being involved, he later commented. He
thought about the hangings for days, weeks,
and even months after they happened.”

Probation was expanded in 1959 with the
opening of four new offices: Chilltwack, Port
Albemi, Williams Lake and Trail. A probation
supervisor was appointed for the Okanagan and
Kootenay Region.

Peter Bone was the first probation officer
assigned to the Cariboo, where an office was
located at Williams Lake. He served five coutts,
covering an area of 12,000 square miles.

“T had been a probation officer in Bristol,
England, for five years prior to emigrating
to Canada six weeks before my first posting
here,” he recalls. “Talk about culture
shock! I’'d be out on the Chilcotin in my
Ford Meteor waving a blue piece of paper
out the window at some fast-disappearing

19 Interview with Gordon Chapple, 1988.

84

Corrections in British Columbia