Columbia juvenile lockup endangers minors, violates civil rights, US government says
A juvenile detention center in Columbia has endangered its inmates and violated their civil rights, the U.S. government said Thursday.
The Broad River Road Complex failed to protect inmates “from youth-on-youth violence and places youth in punitive, prolonged isolation,” the Department of Justice said in a news release.
This was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, “which guarantees reasonable safety from harm,” Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband said in the release. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina agreed with the conclusion, according to the release.
“Our investigation found reasonable cause to conclude that youth in the facility are at substantial risk of serious physical harm from other youth and that youth are regularly subjected to harmful isolation,” Dreiband said. “The Justice Department hopes to continue to work with South Carolina to resolve the Department’s concerns.”
The governor’s office said Thursday that many of the issues raised in the report are issues that the agency’s director, Freddie Pough, has been working to address since he became a cabinet director in 2017.
“From director Pough’s regionalization initiative to his ongoing efforts in the recruitment and retention of officers, Gov. McMaster has consistently proposed investing in important reforms and will continue to do so,” said governor’s office spokesman Brian Symmes.
In a statement, DJJ Director Pough said, “We’ve already made great strides in several areas of concern, but acknowledge there is still work to be done and will require a statewide collaborative effort to truly do our kids justice and empower them for the future they deserve.”
He noted that DJJ has increased mental health programs and plans, created new areas for inmates to voluntarily separate themselves from stressors, and remodeled how they work with aggressive youth. Pough also said that the DJJ is working with law makers to “reform the juvenile justice system overall.”
“Youth altercations and the excessive use of confinement are directly in conflict with our vision for DJJ and do not align with national best practices for long-term rehabilitation or reduce recidivism,” Pough said.
The mission of the Broad River Road Complex is “protecting the public and reclaiming juveniles in the least restrictive environment,” according to DJJ.
There are programs for males and females, including youth sex offenders, and those struggling with substance abuse, DJJ said.
In 2017, the State House’s Legislative Audit Council released a scathing report that said DJJ employed unqualified workers and didn’t comply with the Federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, a law passed in 2003 to help prevent sexual assault in prisons. The council recommended actions for the agency to take to function properly.
The department pushed back, saying it already enacted many of the changes the council asked for.
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This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 9:42 AM.
