Investigations and Standards Office
The Investigation and Standards Office (ISO) is an independent body of the Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include investigating complaints made by inmates at NWT correctional centres and probationers supervised in the community.
Investigations and Standards Office
PO Box 1320
Yellowknife
NT
X1A 2L9
Canada
1‑867‑875-7111
What does the Investigations and Standards Office (ISO) do?
- Provides independent oversight of the Northwest Territories Corrections Service by carrying out investigations and inspections.
- Reviews complaints from inmates or people on probation or parole about unfair decisions or treatment while under the care of the Corrections Service.
- Reviews inmate discipline on appeal.
- Recommends improvements to policy, procedures and correctional practices.
ISO has unrestricted access to:
- inmates;
- documents; and
- the correctional centre.
ISO can ask corrections staff to:
- answer questions;
- provide information; and
- provide evidence.
The ISO cannot deal with complaints about:
- court decisions (e.g. length of sentence);
- decisions of judges or justices of the peace;
- parole board decisions;
- medical decisions of psychiatrists, doctors, dentists (e.g. prescriptions);
- private businesses, private lawyers, or private disputes between individuals; and
- federal government matters (e.g. RCMP).
Complaint Process Information for Inmates
- The client should first try to resolve the issue with NWT Corrections Service staff.
- If that does not work, they may submit a written complaint to NWT Corrections Service.
- NWT Corrections Service is required to respond within 7 days.
- If the client does not receive a response within 7 days or believes the response is unfair they may write to ISO to request a review of the response and complaint issue.
Appeals of disciplinary hearings
- If an inmate believes the disciplinary hearing is unfair, within 7 days of the hearing an inmate may request the Investigation and Standards Office to review the hearing.
For any questions or concerns, inmates can phone the Investigation and Standards Office for free. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.