The escape of a prisoner in Halifax last week highlights the need for guards to have weapons and better training, a union official says.

Jim Gosse, president of Local 480 of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, said guards don't always have the right equipment to control prisoners and they are unarmed during public transfers.

Even letter carriers get to carry pepper spray, he said Monday.

"Can I say that if our members were equipped with such things as Tasers or chemical irritants such as pepper spray or the use of a baton, would it have prevented this escape? We'll never know because our members do not have that equipment," said Gosse.

Last Thursday, Jermaine Carvery escaped from his leg shackles and bolted from a transport van at a Halifax hospital. He was chased by a guard, who notified the Central Nova Correctional Facility using a cellphone.

Carvery, who police describe as dangerous, is still on the loose.

Gosse said news of the escape didn't come as a big shock.

"We have been predicting that as correctional facilities become overcrowded with no end in sight and numbers continue to rise with no end in sight, there is going to be a breakdown in service," he said.

Gosse said the union wants specialized teams for escorting prisoners and cameras in all vehicles used to transport them.

Carla Grant, a spokeswoman for the provincial Department of Justice, said she couldn't comment on the union's concerns because of a union complaint before the Department of Labour.

With files from the Canadian Press