(LEX 18) — Kentucky's Department of Juvenile Justice is currently facing many challenges. Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation into Kentucky's youth detention facilities.
The investigation will examine whether Kentucky protects children confined in these facilities from harm caused by excessive force by staff, prolonged and punitive isolation, and inadequate protection from violence and sexual abuse, according to the Justice Department. The investigation will also examine whether Kentucky provides adequate mental health services and required special education and related services to children with disabilities.
After a series of violent events in the youth prisons, Gov. Andy Beshear allowed juvenile corrections officers to be equipped with pepper spray and tasers. On Wednesday, DJJ Commissioner Randy White told lawmakers on the Justice and Judiciary Budget Review Subcommittee that since pepper spray was handed out, staff assaults have decreased by about 40%.
White explained that all usages of pepper spray are investigated by the Internal Investigations Branch, which is independent of DJJ and reports directly to the Secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.
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According to White, there have been 107 investigations of pepper spray, and 14 were determined to be "substantiated misuses." There has been no deployment of tasers.
Gov. Beshear has defended giving juvenile corrections officers pepper spray. He said employees should be able to have tools to keep themselves and others safe.
On Wednesday, GOP Sen. Chris McDaniel reiterated that staff shouldn’t be afraid to “maintain order.”
"We cannot maintain order if we have a staff that feels unsafe to do the basic actions of doing so," said McDaniel.
“Probably the majority of the population you deal with are young men who are probably strong, who have gotten out of order, and who frankly, have resorted to violence at more than one time in their life,” he added. “So if they have to deal with some pepper spray, possibly if they have to deal with electronic means of tasers — which you've not had to use yet — to keep order in these facilities, those sometimes are the types of things we have to do if we want to keep people safe. Money will go so far to get them in the door. But if you have to worry about getting beat up incessantly, you're not going to stay very long."
White told lawmakers that over the past decade, the juvenile justice detention center population has changed. There has been a decrease in non-felony charges and an increase in serious felony charges, like rape and murder.
As of May 29, 2024, there were 238 kids and teens in Kentucky's youth detention centers. 157 of them face felony charges. 21 face Capital/Felony A charges, 51 face Felony B charges, 37 face Felony C charges, and 48 face Felony D charges.
"The youth are demonstrating a proclivity for more violence within - both outside of the institutions and whenever they arrive within the facilities," said White.
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One area Kentucky had seen improvement in is staffing. White told lawmakers that salary increases have helped recruit and retain juvenile corrections officers.
However, he expressed concern that because of new laws, the number of Kentucky kids and teens sent to DJJ detention facilities could significantly increase. He said that ensuring the safety of the kids and staff is already challenging and the facilities are not at max capacity.
“We think we can manage the influx,” White said, “but it's going to be a squeeze. It's going to be a challenge.”
“It will challenge us financially. We're going to have to take a look at our budgets and try to predict what that cost increase is going to look like,” he added. “Additionally, it's going to put more offenders on the ground within the facilities that we have to manage day in and day out.”
