Juvenile detainees at the Doña Ana County Detention Center are being moved today to a portion of the adult facility, but the adult and juvenile populations will be separated at all times by both sight and sound.
Doña Ana County Manager Julia T. Brown said the transfer is temporary until staffing in the adult detention center can be bolstered with a significant influx of additional, trained officers. In the meantime, combining the adult and juvenile staffing into one building will immediately lower the overall inmate-to-staff ratio.
Brown and Detention Center Director Chris Barela worked with local judges and state officials to ensure that all parties understand the need for the change and the safeguards put into place to protect the juvenile detainees.
Minor construction modifications were made to the east wing of the facility during the last several weeks to accommodate the move to the satisfaction of state officials, who gave the go-ahead to Brown earlier this week.
The juveniles will have their own access to booking and discharge services, medical services, a classroom and closed-circuit TV visitation privileges. Visiting hours for the juveniles will not change as a result of the move.
The area of the detention center that was modified to accommodate the juvenile detainees is the same area where they were housed from 1996 – when the new detention center first opened – to 2001, when construction of the juvenile facility was completed.
“This move enhances safety and allows us to keep our juvenile detainees right here in Doña Ana County without adversely affecting their court cases or placing them in an area geographically distant from their support networks,” Barela said. “For our long-term veteran staff, this is nothing new, and they’ve helped guide the process and the transition to make it seamless for all parties involved.”
Once staffing levels have been optimized at the adult facility, Barela said, the juvenile detention center will be reactivated for use going forward.
Because of the influx of the juveniles into the main building, the maximum adult bed count has been adjusted from 842 down to 722. The facility will accommodate up to 27 juvenile beds, down from 50 before the move.
Information from Dona Ana County