Conflicting Opinions Issued on Juvenile Prison Conditions

By Mike Hasten

3/28/02

BATON ROUGE - Conditions at juvenile prisons aren't likely to improve as long as guards and prison officials who are trained to deal with adults are in charge, a consultant told a Senate committee that oversees the state Department of Corrections.

Tim Roche, deputy director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, told the Senate Judiciary C Committee on Wednesday that there's little difference between the way Louisiana runs its adult and juvenile facilities. "Many of these facilities are churning out far, far more violent people than they took in."

One of the biggest problems is the juvenile prison in Tallulah, which attorney David Utter, who represents parents of inmates in a civil rights lawsuit, says is "an unsafe facility." He told the Senate Judiciary B Committee that 25 percent of the 400 juveniles incarcerated there require infirmary treatment each month.

Sen. Don Cravins, D-Lafayette, chairman of the committee, suggested Wednesday that the best way to solve the problem at Tallulah is to cut off state funding and shut it down. He said he agrees with Roche's proposal to put most of the young people in Tallulah in community-based facilities, especially since almost 75 percent are in prison for nonviolent crimes.

Corrections Secretary Richard Stalder did not contest the number of residents requiring medical treatment but said that includes all types of injuries, including falling down on basketball courts.

"If you put violent children together, obviously, you have more violence there than you would at another facility," said Sen. Charles Jones, D-Monroe, whose district includes Tallulah.

Tallulah is the place where other facilities ship their problems, Utter said. "Tallulah does not hold the most violent kids. It holds the kids that can't get along in other facilities" because of mental problems.

"I have never suggested that we can eliminate violence," Stalder said. "I have only suggested that we can and have made improvements."

Cravins said the discussion of problems will continue until a solution is found.