Closing juvenile detention center in Campbell County is ‘unacceptable.’ | Opinion
On July 18, northern Kentucky law enforcement officials and county attorneys gathered at a press conference hosted by Boone County Sheriff Michael Helmig to address the critical public safety situation prompted by the closing of the juvenile detention facility in Campbell County.
Since the state created the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) in the mid-1990s and counties agreed to turn the responsibility of detaining youth over to the commonwealth, northern Kentucky has had a regional facility run by the state. At a time of record-high juvenile crime, including serious crimes, we are troubled by the state’s decision to close the Campbell County facility.
This decision is unacceptable and excuses are unconvincing, especially in light of the alternative, which currently requires female juveniles to be transported over two hours away to Boyd County and male detainees nearly three hours away to Breathitt County.
With the support of the Northern Kentucky Legislative Caucus and Senate budget chair Senator Chris McDaniel of Kenton County, the legislature approved record funding for the operation of this facility. We allocated over $50 million in the 2023 session to support DJJ’s efforts to remedy the existing crisis within the state’s facilities.
The Kentucky Justice Cabinet secretary recently cited challenges in hiring personnel as the reason for the closure, and I do not underestimate the difficulty. However, this challenge is not unique to our regional juvenile detention center — workforce challenges exist in adult jails, police departments, hospitals and dispatch centers. Yet these facilities are staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, as closing is not an option. It should not be an option for our juvenile detention facility either.
Our law enforcement officials spoke loud and clear last Tuesday. Our unified message is that this facility must be reopened without delay, and it must begin accepting male and female juvenile detainees immediately.
Senator John Schickel, R-Union, represents the 11th Senate District in northern and central Boone County. He serves as co-chair of the 2023 Interim Jail and Corrections Reform Task Force. Schickel has a 45-year career in public service, including as a corrections administrator, law enforcement officer and U.S. marshal.