Youths allegedly doubled and tripled up in juvenile jail cells

Overcrowding at the Wayne County juvenile jail had officials recently doubling up some youths in cells and placing three together in an intake room with mattresses on the floor, according to employees and photos obtained by the Free Press.

An employee sent an email to court officials this week with the allegations and photos of the overcrowding, writing that Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility administrators should be "ashamed of themselves for these deplorable conditions and nonchalant attitudes."

"This facility is unsafe and these issues (need) to be addressed immediately," according to the email obtained by the Free Press, which does not identify the employee. The letter was first reported Friday by WDIV-TV (Channel 4).

"They are being confined 2 and 3 in cells which then has been causing conflict and inappropriate sexual behavior and tension."

Overcrowding and understaffing at the facility has been a problem for months. An ongoing Free Press investigation previously found complaints that youths were denied basic care, including daily showers, recreation, medication and education. County officials have said they've struggled with hiring. The state has permitted the facility to bend lockdown and staffing rules since last spring.

Two other employees, who spoke with the Free Press on Saturday but did not want to be named because they fear reprisals, also confirmed that a few youths were housed together in cells this week.

One employee said that two cells held two juvenile boys each and three other boys were housed in an intake area because other areas in the jail were full.

"There are three kids who have been there for months," the employee said. "They tore up the segregation pod so they have nowhere to put them so they had to put them in the holding cell admitting area. There is a section that isn't even set up to have anyone sleep in. They had to give them mattresses and there are three kids in that section."

"This is so dangerous," the employee said. "These kids haven't been classified according to, you know, what they are in there for ... for them to be that close together. It's really sad."

A majority of the youths have been held alone in their cells, the employees said.

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In a statement provided by the county on Saturday, Deputy County Executive Assad Turfe said that after being made aware of the complaint on Wednesday, “our administration immediately initiated an internal review which is ongoing."

"Upon completion of the review, we will take appropriate action, as necessary," he said. "At this point, we have found no evidence that substantiates the allegation of inappropriate sexual behavior occurring in holding cells of our intake unit.”

Some juveniles have destroyed their cells and escaped the rooms, the employee wrote in the email sent to Wayne County Circuit Court officials.

"When the juveniles destroy their cells, which causes sewage and water to leak into other areas of the holding facility, which then in turn began to smell and become putrid and toxic," the employee wrote. "There is no where for staff or detainees (juveniles to go)."

Wayne County Circuit Chief Judge Patricia Perez Fresard said Saturday that she received the employee's letter late this week and has been in touch with county officials.

"The court is on it, very concerned about the situation," Fresard said. "We've been working on it over the weekend. It's ongoing."

She also said the state needs to take action soon to relieve the overcrowding. There is a statewide shortage of beds at secure residential facilities where youths can be placed from the jail once they have been ordered by the court into treatment. Wayne County officials have repeatedly said the problems at the juvenile jail stem from that shortage.

"The state basically needs to take action," Fresard said.

More:Overcrowded, understaffed juvenile jail forces Wayne County officials to act

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The county relocated juveniles to a former adult jail in the city of Hamtramck, the William Dickerson Detention Facility, in late October to improve safety conditions after youths were able to break out of their rooms at the old facility in Greektown.

The are 152 youths at the facility, according to the county's statement on Saturday. Officials have previously said the facility could comfortably operate with 80 juveniles.

"The increase in our census is a result of various factors, including changes in legislation, COVID backlogs in courts, shortages of statewide long-term placement facilities, etc.,” Turfe said.

He said the county has contracted with a company to address the staffing shortages at the facility and that the county’s “highest priority is the safety of the residents and staff of the Juvenile Detention Facility.”

Youths are still confined to their rooms for the vast majority of the day but are allowed out for about two hours for recreation, schooling and showers, an employee told the Free Press on Saturday.

"They aren't going two, three, four days without rec," the employee said. "They are getting rec once a day, if not every other day sometimes."

Lengthy confinement can hurt kids' mental health, experts say, and national standards recommend no more than four hours daily during non-sleeping hours. Critics have called the practice solitary confinement.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Detroit Press Press does not typically publish altered images. Due to the news value of the photographs in this story showing the conditions of the facility, an editorial decision was made to blur the faces of the juveniles and employees at the jail to protect their identities.

Contact Christine MacDonald: cmacdonald@freepress.com or 313-418-2149. Follow her on Twitter: @cmacfreep. Contact Gina Kaufman: gkaufman@freepress.com Follow her on Twitter: @ReporterGina.