Summit View’s woes remain

Friday, Aug. 9, 2002 | 10:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- An administrative appeal will be filed to try to prevent the state from awarding a contract to an international firm to reopen Summit View, the male juvenile detention center North Las Vegas.

The state Purchasing Division last week issued an "intent to award" the contract to Securicor New Century of Richmond, Va., whose parent company is headquartered in England.

An attorney for Rite of Passage of Minden, which came in second in the evaluation by the state, said he will file a protest on grounds that Securicor is not qualified.

Ernie Adler, attorney for Rite of Passage, said Securicor operates three juvenile facilities in Florida where problems have occurred similar to those at Summit View, including escapes and sexual relationships between inmates and staff.

Two of the three Florida detention centers, Adler said, were rated "below standard" in evaluations by that state.

Lawrence Howell, president of Rite of Passage, said he was disappointed the state selected Securicor and "shocked" it chose a company from the United Kingdom.

Gail Browne, president and chief executive officer of Securicor, said all three centers in Florida are accredited by the American Corrections Association and have programs of vocational training and drug and substance abuse.

She said there were problems when Securicor first took over one of the centers but that they have been corrected. The centers received high marks from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, Browne said.

Browne said there has been one escape from the three facilities in the last year. In the last three years, she said, there have been two instances of staff members having intimate relationships with inmates. In one case, the worker was fired within 24 hours, and in the other the employee quit, Browne said.

Adler pointed to a 2001 report by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice that rated the Avon Park Youth Academy, run by Securicor in Polk County, Fla., as operating "below average programs." It was reported to be 5.3 percent below the expected rate of success, and the cost of two years of operation was $4.4 million or $81,282 per inmate for the period.

Browne said those statistics were misleading because they were gathered shortly after Securicor took over operations.

Adler also referred to a 2000 report by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice that said that at Sago Palm Academy, also operated by Securicor in western Palm Beach County, guards abused teen inmates, shackled one to a bed for 14 hours and used a choke hold on an inmate.

Browne conceded there were problems shortly after Securicor took over operations from Corrections Services Corp. -- which also previously ran Summit View.

Browne said those problems have been corrected.

Adler said the appeal would be filed within the next week.

The $14 million Summit View, with 96 beds for serious male juvenile offenders, closed Jan. 31 after opening in 2000.