Juvenile detention center filled beyond capacity

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002 | 9:53 a.m.

Today 17 kids woke up on mats on the floors of the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center because the facility's 235 beds were filled.

These days that is not an uncommon scene, juvenile detention administration officials say, noting they are studying incarceration alternatives that do not include adding more beds to those added during a recent major expansion.

"We are putting things in place to beef up our incarceration alternatives," said Adrienne Cox, assistant director of Clark County Juvenile Justice Services.

"To increase from 112 beds to 235 beds (between 1996 and 2000) then fill and exceed capacity already is a big concern because we won't be doubling those beds again."

Today 252 youths age 18 or younger were housed in the 651 N. Pecos Road facility.

Among them are 54 who were deemed a threat to the community by probation officers based on previous records and current charges, 42 who are awaiting placement in state corrections facilities in Elko and Caliente, 39 held on judicial orders, 32 held on gun charges and 21 held on warrants.

Judges, prosecutors and administrators are struggling with the decision of which of those detainees to trust in less restrictive means than jail -- counseling, community-based help programs, in-house electronic monitoring, etc.

Cox said that part of the efforts to reduce overcrowding include examining whether a "score sheet," a list used by probation officers to determine whether a youth should be incarcerated, could be redone or if gun-related charges need to be better defined.

Cox noted that a half-dozen kids may be caught joyriding together and police find a gun in the car. Normally all six would detained. Perhaps, she said, only one or two possible owners of the gun could be identified and detained and the others put in different programs.

In 1996 voters approved a $40 million bond that allowed authorities to build the juvenile jail expansion and increase the Spring Mountain detention youth camp from 80 to 100 beds.

In 2000 the new detention center opened on the 35-acre Family and Youth Service campus on North Pecos that includes family courts and Child Haven.

Cox said that campus is "built out" so with no more room to grow administrators must find alternatives.