Law enforcement and those working in juvenile detention facilities say Kentucky is dealing with a much more violent male population.
Investigations are being conducted into a pair of attacks over the past week at the Warren Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
In one incident, three teenagers attacked an employee and barricaded themselves inside an office. Another trio of inmates attacked employees enforcing curfew, injuring at least one worker.
Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Kerry Harvey said on Thursday that defensive equipment is on the way to the Bowling Green facility.
“That includes items like pepper spray, and so if we had implemented that, I think our staff would have been in a lot better shape to deal with those situations," Harvey told WKU Public Radio in an interview.
The attacks in Warren County were only two in a series of violent uprisings this year at Kentucky’s juvenile detention facilities, including in Adair County where a female inmate was sexually assaulted. Other facilities have reported escapes, fires, and vandalism.
Mental health is one of the factors behind an increasingly violent juvenile population. Harvey said the juvenile justice system created 20 years ago isn’t effective today, and that state government is working to meet the current challenges.
As state lawmakers calls for a change in leadership at the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, the current commissioner says some recent reforms still need time to work.
The state is now separating youth inmates based on gender, age and offense level. Also, employees at juvenile detention centers will soon have protective equipment to respond to violent outbreaks.
Juvenile Justice Commissioner Vicki Reed said Thursday that under-staffing is at the root of many of the problems.
“The kids know when you’re short-staffed," Reed said. "They can try to exploit that, so just having more bodies in the building is a good thing.”
Gov. Andy Beshear has raised youth worker starting salaries $30,000 to $50,000, and Reed says that’s beginning to improve hiring and retention.
There have been allegations of mistreatment of youth, such as housing them in their cells for indefinite periods of time, not as punishment, but because of staffing shortages.
Some former employees of the Adair County Juvenile Detention Center told the Lexington Herald-Leaderthat they've been questioned by the FBI in recent months. Justice Sec. Kerry Harvey referred questions about whether a federal investigation is ongoing to the federal agency.
"Unfortunately, pursuant to DOJ policy, I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of such investigation," FBI spokeswoman Sara Anderson said in an emailed statement.
The legislature's Juvenile Justice Work Group issued recommendations this week, including an outside audit of the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice.
