Kentucky will open its first female-only juvenile detention center as part of efforts to defuse the risks of violence that escalated into a riot at a youth facility last month.
A 35-bed detention center in northern Kentucky will be transformed into the center. Starting this month, female juveniles who are placed in detention by the courts will be housed at the Newport facility, with some limited exceptions, state justice and public safety officials said in a news release.
The action comes in response to last month’s riot at a juvenile detention center in Adair County. In the wake of the riot, Kentucky State Police are investigating a reported sexual assault in the females-only wing of the facility.
Other changes to the juvenile detention system could be announced as soon as next week, with the goal of providing a significant additional level of protection for juveniles and staff, Governor Andy Beshear announced at his weekly news conference Thursday.
At the detention center in Adair County, several young people and staff were wounded in the disturbance, which began when a juvenile assaulted a staff member, took the employee’s keys and released other young people from their cells, according to state police. Order was restored after state police troopers and other law enforcement officers entered the facility in south-central Kentucky.
A state police investigation is continuing, but the governor said he expects it to result in “significant charges.” A staff member was hospitalized with significant injuries.
Under Kentucky law, any youth between the ages of 11 and 18 may be ordered by a judge to be held at a state juvenile detention center. Kentucky has been using an outdated model, Governor Beshear said in announcing the first phase of changes.
Source: AP
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