New Fredericton courthouse to close door on 'perp walks' for accused

A common sight in New Brunswick's criminal justice system could be moving toward extinction.

The controversial practice of perp walks are an opportunity for news media to capture images of a suspect in a system where cameras often aren't allowed in court.

The term appears to come from the U.S, where law enforcement officers are known to intentionally march a handcuffed suspect through a crowd of photographers and reporters.

In New Brunswick, the practice is more a by-product of the need to move suspects from the sheriff's van into the courthouse for hearings or trial.

But with the construction of a new justice building in Fredericton, the ability to photograph a suspect being walked into court will become a thing of the past.

Instead, suspects will be transported into the facility through what's known as a "sally port," said Judy Désalliers, spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Public Safety.

"These secure, controlled points of entry and exit are a means to keep corrections staff, sheriffs and inmates safe," Désalliers said, in an email.

It functions like a secure garage, she said, with the sheriff's vehicle driving into the space before an overhead door closes.

"They reduce opportunity for escape and mitigate risk of introduction of contraband as well as other security breaches."

Désalliers said the newer Miramichi, Saint John and Moncton courthouses already have sally ports, which she described as "a standard security feature in modern courthouses."

The province announced in 2021 that a new justice building would be built on King Street in Fredericton, replacing the courthouse in the Justice building on Queen Street, which was originally built as a school in 1876 before being converted to a courthouse in the 1970s.

The new courthouse is set to be finished in 2025 and will result in the closure of the Queen Street courthouse and the Burton courthouse, where Fredericton Court of King's Bench matters are currently heard.

In high-profile criminal cases, such as the trial of Matthew Raymond, who was found not criminally responsible for killing two police constables and two civilians in Fredericton in 2018, photos taken at his court appearances were the only opportunity for the public to match a face to the name.

Véronique Chadillon-Farinacci, an assistant professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Moncton, sees a problem with the so-called perp walk.