Juvenile Hall Security to Be Strengthened

ORANGE —  The acts that land most of today’s inmates at Orange County Juvenile Hall are straight out of a gritty urban tale like “Boyz N the Hood.”

But the detention center itself has more in common with “Rebel Without a Cause” or some other 1950s melodrama about juvenile delinquency.

Built 40 years ago, the main section of Juvenile Hall features cozy lounges complete with brick fireplaces and a “beauty room” originally meant for “incorrigible” girls and runaways who once made up a substantial portion of its population.

“It was designed to have a homelike environment, not to be a lock-up facility for dangerous inmates,” said Thomas G. Wright, the director of Juvenile Hall.

“Our population has changed dramatically in the last 20 years,” Wright added. “It used to be rare that we would have inmates accused of homicides or violent crimes here. Now, it’s fairly common.”

Faced with this inmate population shift, the Probation Department is embarking on the difficult and expensive task of renovating Juvenile Hall to improve security and better reflect the realities of today’s juvenile offenders.

Over the next year, the county plans to install more than 100 video cameras that will give probation counselors the ability to monitor the maze of hallways, classrooms, social areas and athletic fields that make up the institution.

The surveillance cameras will be linked to a system of “personal distress” devices that staffers can activate, both to attract the attention of video monitors and summon help if needed.

The advanced surveillance system, however, is just the first step in the long process of bringing the older sections of Juvenile Hall into the 1990s.

Officials want to eventually replace the old-fashioned chicken-wire windows with shatterproof glass because inmates have occasionally broken the windows and used the shards as weapons. The built-in chairs inside each detention cell should be removed because some teens have kicked them loose and used them as weapons, Wright said.

“These doors need to be replaced too,” he added, pointing to a slightly dented metal door near the sunny fireplace room. “They have experienced metal fatigue from being hit so many times by kids who are angry.”

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Probation officials across California are scrambling to make similar modifications, said Gene Roh, past president of the Chief Probation Officers Assn. and head of the San Mateo County Probation Department.

“With the tougher kids we are getting, the vintage 1950 and 1960s facilities you see just aren’t attuned for today’s needs,” Roh said. “A lot of counties are considering it, but making the changes is very expensive.”

In Orange County, the problem is exacerbated by severe overcrowding at Juvenile Hall, which was designed for 374 inmates but regularly houses 500 or more. Board of Supervisors Chairman William G. Steiner has scheduled a board session Tuesday on the topic of crowding.

The close quarters are blamed for a recent increase in the number of fights among inmates. For the six-month period ending Feb. 28, some 364 inmates were disciplined for fighting, compared to 138 inmates during the same period last year.

The Probation Department no longer books misdemeanor cases in Juvenile Hall, and releases scores of juvenile delinquents before their terms are up to make room for more serious cases. In January, 60% of inmates were being held for violent felonies.

“They have youthful faces. But then you see what they are in for, and you realize you have to watch them very closely,” said Colleene E. Hodges, a division director for the Probation Department.

The population and atmosphere have changed radically since the 1960s and ‘70s, when Juvenile Hall was inhabited mostly by runaways, teens accused of petty crimes and “incorrigible” kids incarcerated because their parents felt they could not control them.

“We are certainly dealing with a different kind of inmate today,” said Deputy Chief Probation Officer Stephanie Lewis, a 30-year veteran of the department. “The design is not ideal for the population today. So we are trying to go back and make [the facilities] more compatible.”

Lewis said the changes have come gradually, beginning several years ago when weightlifting sets were banned and pool tables removed. Inmates were using the pool cues for weapons.

More than half of the living quarters in Juvenile Hall were built between the late 1950s and early ‘70s. A newer wing completed recently has a more institutional look, and was designed to handle more serious offenders.

The new section lacks the blind spots and older materials found in the 1950s wing. Moreover, each detention cell is linked via intercom with the security desk and has its own toilet and sink.

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In the long term, officials would like to build an infirmary at the hall, eliminating the need for probation counselors to accompany wounded or ill inmates to outside medical appointments. Wright said the trips pose security risks, especially if the inmates are “wanted” by rival gangs.

But no money is available for such a project. The new video system alone will cost more than $2 million.

While striving to make Juvenile Hall more secure, officials stressed that the institution will never resemble a jail or prison.

Prisoners spend much of their time behind bars. But juvenile offenders shuttle between classes, lectures and sports activities during the day, and spend relatively little waking time in their cells.

State law sets strict standards about the design of juvenile facilities, including the amount of sunlight each cell receives.

Lewis and others said the less confining approach is the best way to handle youthful offenders, but they acknowledge that it poses added security challenges.

“Our counselors get to know the kids and can sense when there is trouble,” Hodges said. “When you have rival gangs, it’s difficult. All it takes is a look” to start a fight.

Other counties are grappling with the same dilemma. Roh of the probation officers group said that San Mateo County is considering a new design for its Juvenile Hall that separates violent and nonviolent offenders.

“We can have the softer colors and setting for some classifications and harder security for the tougher inmates,” he said.