Report: Sex and violence plague prison for girls (Florida)

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Tue, Feb. 24, 2004

DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE


Report: Sex and violence plague prison for girls

In another setback, Florida's troubled juvenile justice agency is blasted by a grand jury for ''hopelessness'' at prison for delinquent girls.

By CAROL MARBIN MILLER

[e-mail]


With inadequate and virtually untrained staff and poor oversight, a prison for delinquent girls became a nightmarish place where girls were injured and sexually abused, a Palm Beach County grand jury wrote Monday in the latest rebuke of Florida's juvenile justice system.

The Florida Institute for Girls, a 100-bed prison for hard-to-manage girls operated by a Coral Gables company called Premier Behavioral Solutions, was beset by violence: at least three detainees suffered broken arms -- two in ''takedowns'' by staff -- and others were raped or assaulted by male guards who were not supposed to be alone with the girls.

As staff struggled to cope with the violence, girls frequently were locked in their rooms and denied activities, exercise and even an education, the 62-page report said. Classes were canceled 41 times during a six-month period, due to staff shortages.

''This environment fostered the hopelessness of many of the girls in the facility,'' the report said.
(snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/8024064.htm

[truthisfreedom]

1. jeb's children. perfect example of the bush family legacy.

[Thaddeus]

2. Exhibit A

...of the effect that the Prison-Industrial complex is having on society. For-profit prisons is an atrocious idea whose time for dissolution has come long ago.

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. Gee, isn't privatization grand

I thought private companies were going to do things better than the government? This crew had to cancel class 41 times due to staff shortages? Instead the girls are raped and assaulted? Sounds like Premier Behavior Solutions is doing a bang up job? I bet Jeb just thinks it's a huge success.


Edit: Turns out that PBS got a contract for $30 million to run this 100 bed facility for 6 years. That comes to $50,000 per person, per year. Where the hell is all this money going? It certainly isn't being spent on the girls in the program. Something stinks here.

Napeles Daily News

[ms_splash]

4. This is absolutely disgusting!

I could post a whole rant about what works in juvenile justice, but it seems obvious at this point.

Why isn't it obvious to the Florida juvenile justicce system?

Hint: it aint "locking 'em up"

The "Florida Institute for Girls"...please ma'am, may I have some more?

[Ripley]

5. Also happened in Alabama.

Can't recall which facility, but there were not only multiple rape charges involved, but a few of the teenagers were impregnated by the prison staff and of course the girls were forced to have abortions. I'll see if I can find a link...this happened about 3 years ago.

This country is terminally ill.

On Edit: Here's a very sad link: http://www.spr.org/en/news/pre2002/june2002.html