Williams addresses violence and cautions against expanding beds
Williams says violence and contraband remain persistent issues in youth detention centers. He cautions against broad expansion of secure detention beds, saying the focus should be on incarcerating fewer young people.
Violence and contraband are also persistent issues at the city's youth detention centers.
Jail is a stressful environment for anyone, let alone young people who are still learning to regulate their emotions and settle interpersonal conflicts.
The overcrowding and inconsistent access to structured activities such as schools only exacerbate the existing pressures of being in lockup.
While every young person in custody must have their own space in which to sleep, and ACS is renovating its detention facilities to accommodate more youth, I just want to caution against any broad expansions in securing detention beds.
Too many times we have seen that if we build it, they will come.
Mayor's plan to improve conditions, attention, increase services and resources in the community is an important step.
And a reminder that we should be focused less on increasing capacity and more on incarcerating fewer young people.
For too long, we have focused resources on removing people from our communities instead of supporting those communities directly.
Under this new administration, we have a chance to make meaningful, lasting change for young people in the city.
I know this is a difficult conversation for everyone involved.