From riots, fights, assaults on staff and teens having sex, some are urging for the Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center to be closed down.
LYNDON, Ky. (WAVE) - From riots, fights, assaults on staff and teens having sex, some are urging for the Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center to be closed down.
“How would you describe how the youth are being housed right now?” WAVE News Troubleshooters asked Michael Ross, the center’s former supervisor.
“Like animals,” Ross replied. “And that’s what’s setting them off.”
On August 27, WAVE News was on scene after reports of juvenile inmates breaking through the doors of their dorms, breaking windows to try to escape and setting fired.
One teen did escape the facility, which is surrounded by a residential area. He was later located by police.
“No one at this point is in control,” the dispatcher warned the responding officers and firefighters. “They’re trying to break the windows.”
There have been at least two other incidents in the last few weeks of the juvenile inmates taking over the facility and the control room.
Police have had to be called to regain control.
Louisville Metro closed the downtown Jefferson County Youth Detention Center, or JCYC, in January 2020 due to a budget cut.
Since then in Jefferson County, most teens arrested for crimes are being cited and released back to their parents, according to local law enforcement.
Teenagers who are taken to a detention center are mostly accused of violent crimes...
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