Current:Home > MarketsJustice Department to investigate Kentucky’s juvenile jails after use of force, isolation complaints -Legacy Profit Partners
Justice Department to investigate Kentucky’s juvenile jails after use of force, isolation complaints
View
Date:2025-04-18 12:32:31
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Federal investigators will examine conditions in Kentucky’s youth detention centers and whether the state has done enough to protect juveniles housed there, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday.
The federal investigation follows a Kentucky auditor’s report that said the state’s juvenile justice system had ongoing problems with the use of force and isolation techniques in the detention centers.
“We are launching this investigation to ensure that children in Kentucky youth detention facilities are safe from harm, receive adequate mental health care and get appropriate special education services,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement. “All children held in the custody of the state deserve safe and humane conditions that can bring about true rehabilitation and reform.”
The investigation will examine whether Kentucky protects the facilities’ juveniles from excessive force by staff as well as from prolonged isolation, violence and sexual abuse, the Justice Department said. A federal lawsuit filed in January alleged two teenage girls held in a county facility were kept in isolation cells for weeks in unsanitary conditions, and one was kept in a padded cell with no toilet.
Federal investigators also will examine whether Kentucky provides adequate mental health services and required special education and related services to youth with disabilities, it said.
“Confinement in the juvenile justice system should help children avoid future contact with law enforcement and mature into law-abiding, productive members of society. Too often, juvenile justice facilities break our children, exposing them to dangerous and traumatic conditions,” said Clarke, who is with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The statewide investigation will review conditions at eight youth detention centers and one youth development center run by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice.
The state will cooperate with the federal investigation while also advocating “for the safety of its staff,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement.
Keith Jackson, the state’s Justice and Public Safety secretary, added: “We look forward to being able to talk to the Department of Justice, because as of today, no members of our leadership have been interviewed, and we have not had the opportunity to discuss any incident, policy or issue with the Department of Justice.”
Beshear recently hired longtime state corrections executive Randy White to take over as the state’s commissioner of the Department of Juvenile Justice. White’s predecessor became a lightning rod for criticism as the state-operated system struggled to quell violent outbursts at detention centers.
Kentucky’s juvenile justice system has struggled to house increasing numbers of youths accused of violent offenses. The result was a string of assaults, riots and escapes as well as incidents of abuse and neglect of youths at juvenile detention centers.
A riot broke out in 2022 at a detention center, causing injuries to young people and staff. Order was restored after state police and other law enforcement officers entered the facility. In another incident, some juveniles kicked and punched staff during an attack at another center.
Beshear responded with policy changes to try to quell the violence.
He announced, among other things, that youths accused of significant crimes would be separated from alleged lower-level offenders, and “defensive equipment” — pepper spray and Tasers — was provided so detention center workers could defend themselves and others if attacked.
“Over the past four years, the administration has enacted the most extensive reforms to the Department of Juvenile Justice since its inception,” the Democratic governor said Wednesday.
As the problems mounted, Kentucky lawmakers responded by appropriating money to boost salaries for juvenile justice employees, hire more correctional officers, improve security at detention centers and increase diversion and treatment services for detained youths.
Kentucky Senate President Pro Tem David Givens, a Republican, said Wednesday that he hoped the investigation would “serve as a crucial wake-up call” for Beshear’s administration.
“This is an opportunity to reaffirm commitment to the welfare of Kentucky’s troubled youth and to ensure the safety of the staff in these facilities,” Givens said in a statement.
veryGood! (79486)
Related
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- In political shift to the far right, anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders wins big in Dutch elections
- What is a hip-drop tackle? And why some from the NFL want it banned. Graphics explain
- Balloons, bands, celebrities and Santa: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade kicks off
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- The Best Thanksgiving TV Episodes and Movies to Watch As You Nurse Your Food Hangover
- Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses accused of 1989 sexual assault in lawsuit by former model
- Ariana DeBose talks Disney's 'Wish,' being a 'big softie' and her Oscar's newest neighbor
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Israel-Hamas truce deal for hostage release hits last-minute snag, now expected to start Friday
Ranking
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Balloons, bands, celebrities and Santa: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade kicks off
- Closing arguments in Vatican trial seek to expose problems in the city state’s legal system
- Local newspaper started by Ralph Nader saved from closure by national media company
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- At least 3 dead, 3 missing after landslide hits remote Alaskan town
- It's Been a Minute: Pressing pause on 'Killers of the Flower Moon'
- The EU Parliament Calls For Fossil Fuel Phase Out Ahead of COP28
Recommendation
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
Brazil forward Rodrygo denounces racist abuse on social media after match against Argentina
'It's personal': Chris Paul ejected by old nemesis Scott Foster in return to Phoenix
South Korea says Russian support likely enabled North Korea to successfully launch a spy satellite
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
New Jersey blaze leaves 8 firefighters injured and a dozen residents displaced on Thanksgiving
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2023 performances: Watch Cher, Jon Batiste, Chicago, more stars
Pennsylvania woman sentenced in DUI crash that killed 2 troopers and a pedestrian