Central Juvenile Hall

Last updated
Central Juvenile Hall
Central Juvenile Hall
Location Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles
StatusOperational
Opened1921
Managed by Los Angeles County Probation Department

Central Juvenile Hall (also known as Eastlake Juvenile Hall or Central) is a youth detention center in Los Angeles County. Central houses both boys and girls. [1] The Central Juvenile Hall complex was originally established in 1912 as the first juvenile detention facility in Los Angeles County. [2] The hall sits on twenty-two and one-half acres of land in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles. The facility has 24 buildings including living units, two infirmaries, two school buildings, two gyms, kitchen facilities, a chapel, and mechanical areas. [2]

Contents

Conditions

In 2014, the Los Angeles County Grand Jury criticized the conditions of the hall, and proposed that it be torn down. [3] Into 2016, juvenile justice reform advocates pushed a proposal that would split the Los Angeles County Probation Department in two parts, one for overseeing juveniles and one for adults. [4]

One former Central ward wrote about his experience in solitary confinement in 1962. [5] Into the 2000s, former inmates recalled being placed in solitary confinement at Central. [6]

Programs

In 1997, Sister Janet Harris, then Catholic Chaplain at Central, cofounded InsideOUT Writers (IOW). [7] The organization uses creative writing to encourage personal growth and transformation within the California juvenile justice system and still teaches writing workshops inside Central. [8] Mark Salzman taught for IOW at Central, and wrote a book about his experience. [9] In 2011, IOW teamed with the Los Angeles Opera to perform stories written by incarcerated youths at Central. [10]

In 2012, rap artist RZA spoke to teen fathers at Central. [11] UpRising Yoga has held yoga classes for boys and girls incarcerated at Central. [12]

In 2016, Center for the Empowerment of Families (CEF) [13] Executive Director, Renee Curry, introduced the first Therapeutic Ballet-Mentorship program. The Dance for Healing Project [14] was developed by Renee and Jamie Hammond-Carbetta, Pony Box Theatre's Choreographer. A dance program model the two first created in 2014, it includes all genres of dance for incarcerated girls and boys identified as impacted by trauma experiences. Namely youth previously affected by sex trafficking, domestic violence, neglect & caregiver substance abuse. The program includes coping skills continuance monitoring and mentorship upon release. CEF Mentors Cambreisha Montgomery, Akwi Devine & CEF's Board Member Roz Freeman, are also responsible for the innovation and functionality of this mentorship program. Mentors and the dance instructors are survivors, yet many hold Masters in Public Health, Masters in Counseling Psychology; or Fine Arts degrees in Dance.

CEF is 10 year nonprofit provider for therapeutic programming at LA County Probation facilities, and it is also responsible for RZA's visit to Juvenile Hall through its Fatherhood program developed by Dr. Sharon Jacques-Rabb.

Notable juvenile inmates

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutherford County, Tennessee</span> County in Tennessee, United States

Rutherford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in Middle Tennessee. As of a 2021 estimate, the population was 352,182, making it the fifth-most populous county in Tennessee. A study conducted by the University of Tennessee projects Rutherford County to become the third largest county in Tennessee by population by 2050. Its county seat is Murfreesboro, which is also the geographic center of Tennessee. As of 2010, it is the center of population of Tennessee. Rutherford County is included in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LA County Library</span> Public library system in California

LA County Library is one of the largest public library systems in the United States which serves residents living in 49 of the 88 incorporated cities of Los Angeles County, California. United States, and those living in unincorporated areas resulting in a service area extending over 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2). The LA County Library system provides local libraries to several unincorporated areas and cities across Los Angeles County, and is not to be confused with the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) system, which serves areas within the city of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth detention center</span> Type of prison for people under the age of majority

In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC), juvenile detention, juvenile jail, juvenile hall, or more colloquially as juvie/juvy, also sometimes referred to as observation home or remand home is a prison for people under the age of majority, to which they have been sentenced and committed for a period of time, or detained on a short-term basis while awaiting trial or placement in a long-term care program. Juveniles go through a separate court system, the juvenile court, which sentences or commits juveniles to a certain program or facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penal system of Japan</span> Penal system of the State of Japan

The penal system of Japan is part of the criminal justice system of Japan. It is intended to resocialize, reform, rehabilitate and punish offenders. The penal system is operated by the Correction Bureau of the Ministry of Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American juvenile justice system</span> Aspect of American justice system

The American juvenile justice system is the primary system used to handle minors who are convicted of criminal offenses. The system is composed of a federal and many separate state, territorial, and local jurisdictions, with states and the federal government sharing sovereign police power under the common authority of the United States Constitution. The juvenile justice system intervenes in delinquent behavior through police, court, and correctional involvement, with the goal of rehabilitation. Youth and their guardians can face a variety of consequences including probation, community service, youth court, youth incarceration and alternative schooling. The juvenile justice system, similar to the adult system, operates from a belief that intervening early in delinquent behavior will deter adolescents from engaging in criminal behavior as adults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles County Probation Department</span> Probation Department in Los Angeles County, California

The Los Angeles County Probation Department provides services for those placed on probation within Los Angeles County, California. Cal Remington is the current interim chief probation officer. The department is the largest probation department in the world.

WriteGirl is a Los Angeles–based project of Community Partners, founded by Keren Taylor in 2001. Taylor was recognized by CNN as a "CNN Hero" in 2021. The organization's focus is connecting professional women writers in Los Angeles, CA with underserved teenage girls who might not otherwise have access to creative writing or mentoring programs. The mentoring program focuses on creative writing and empowerment through self-expression. WriteGirl Alum Amanda Gorman, was chosen as the Inaugural Poet for the 59th Inaugural Ceremonies on Jan. 20, 2021, when Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States. In 2013, WriteGirl was honored by-then first lady, Michelle Obama, with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department</span> Law enforcement agency in California, United States

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States and the third largest local police agency in the United States, following the New York Police Department, and the Chicago Police Department. LASD has approximately 18,000 employees, 9,915 sworn deputies and 9,244 unsworn members. It is sometimes confused with the unrelated Los Angeles Police Department which provides law enforcement service within the city of Los Angeles, which is the county seat of Los Angeles County.

The District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DCDC) is a correctional agency responsible for the adult jails and other adult correctional institutions for the District of Columbia, in the United States. DCDC runs the D.C. Jail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth incarceration in the United States</span>

The United States incarcerates more of its youth than any other country in the world through the juvenile courts and the adult criminal justice system, which reflects the larger trends in incarceration practices in the United States. In 2010, approximately 70,800 juveniles were incarcerated in youth detention facilities alone. As of 2006, approximately 500,000 youth were brought to detention centers in a given year. This data does not reflect juveniles tried as adults. As of 2013, around 40% were incarcerated in privatized, for-profit facilities.

The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) is a state agency of Massachusetts. Its administrative office is headquartered in 600 Washington Street, Boston. The agency operates the state's juvenile justice services and facilities for incarcerated of children.

The Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) is a state agency in Texas, headquartered in the Braker H Complex in Austin.

The Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) is a Los Angeles–based nonprofit organization founded by Scott Budnick. ARC is a support network for formerly incarcerated individuals and advocates for criminal justice reform. ARC's mission is to reduce incarceration, improve the outcomes of formerly incarcerated individuals, and build healthier communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalief Browder</span> American teenager incarcerated for three years without trial

Kalief Browder was an African American youth from The Bronx, New York, who was held at the Rikers Island jail complex, without trial, between 2010 and 2013 for allegedly stealing a backpack containing valuables. During his imprisonment, Browder was kept in solitary confinement for 800 days.

Michael Huggins is the American founder and Executive Director of Transformation Yoga Project, a non-profit organization teaching yoga and mindfulness as a tool for personal change in the lives of people within drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities, the criminal justice system, community transitional centers and VA hospitals.

InsideOUT Writers (IOW) is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization that conducts weekly writing classes inside Los Angeles County juvenile halls and jails. IOW also serves as a support network for formerly incarcerated young people. Since 1996, more than 11,000 youth have participated in over 15,000 classes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decarceration in the United States</span> Overview article

Decarceration in the United States involves government policies and community campaigns aimed at reducing the number of people held in custody or custodial supervision. Decarceration, the opposite of incarceration, also entails reducing the rate of imprisonment at the federal, state and municipal level. As of 2019, the US was home to 5% of the global population but 25% of its prisoners. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. possessed the world's highest incarceration rate: 655 inmates for every 100,000 people, enough inmates to equal the populations of Philadelphia or Houston. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinvigorated the discussion surrounding decarceration as the spread of the virus poses a threat to the health of those incarcerated in prisons and detention centers where the ability to properly socially distance is limited. As a result of the push for decarceration in the wake of the pandemic, as of 2022, the incarceration rate in the United States declined to 505 per 100,000, resulting in the United States no longer having the highest incarceration rate in the world, but still remaining in the top five.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incarceration in California</span> Overview of incarceration in the U.S. state of California

Incarceration in California spans federal, state, county, and city governance, with approximately 200,000 people in confinement at any given time. An additional 55,000 people are on parole.

Joe "Peps" Galarza is a Chicano artist, educator, and musician based in Los Angeles. He is the bassist for the Chicano rap group Aztlan Underground.

The juvenile justice system and jail of Rutherford County, Tennessee became a subject of state-wide, national and international controversy in the 2020s, when a journalistic investigation revealed a pattern of abnormal and illegal incarceration of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children in the county's juvenile jail at a rate ten times the state's average.

References

  1. ↑ Fritz, Mike (2015-03-17). "Photo essay: Life inside a juvenile detention center for girls". PBS Newshour. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 "1999 Los Angeles County Grand Jury Report". Los Angeles County Grand Jury. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Sewell, Abby (29 July 2014). "Future of L.A. County's main juvenile hall is uncertain". LA Times. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Sewell, Abby (29 December 2015). "Should L.A.'s probation agency be split between youths and adults?". LA Times. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Alan (2010-02-12). "In Solitary at LA's Juvenile Hall, circa 1962". Solitary Watch. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  6. ↑ Green, Marcus. "In two dozen states, juvenile offenders can be put in solitary. Advocates want to change that". pri.org. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Sister Janet Harris". Loyola Law School. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  8. ↑ Archer, Christine (2014-08-06). "California Teacher Uses Writing to Inspire Incarcerated Youth". JJIE. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  9. ↑ McCollam, Douglas (2003-11-30). "Rough Drafts". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  10. ↑ Molvi, Fareeha (2011-11-11). "LA Opera performs stories by incarcerated youth at juvenile hall". 89.3 KPCC. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  11. ↑ Romero, Dennis (2012-06-14). "RZA OF WU-TANG CLAN TO TEACH TEENS IN JUVENILE HALL HOW TO BE BETTER FATHERS". LA Weekly. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  12. ↑ Schware, Rob (2016-01-14). "Yoga: How We Serve Incarcerated Youth". Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Center for the Empowerment of Families, Inc". Center for the Empowerment of Families, Inc.
  14. ↑ "The Dance for Healing Project". The Dance for Healing Project.
  15. ↑ Warren, Jenifer (2005-12-13). "Tookie Williams Is Executed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 March 2016.

34°03′51″N118°12′26″W / 34.0641°N 118.2072°W / 34.0641; -118.2072

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.