New law upends juvenile detention

By

Local News

September 11, 2019 - 10:19 AM

Allen County commissioners are giving serious consideration to pulling out of a consortium with the Girard Juvenile Detention Center because of a new law that severely restrict the kinds of instances that puts a youth behind bars.

As commissioner Bruce Symes explained Senate Bill 367, “It drastically restricts the detention of juveniles from July 1 on. Whereas we used to be able to detain youths who were not only a potential harm to others, but also potential harm to themselves,” now they cannot. “Kids who were a runaway risk, in bad foster home situations, abuse victims and sexual trafficking victims,” will no longer be housed in the Girard facility.

The new law restricts detention strictly to youths who commit a felony with a firearm and are a danger to others or property under different grading systems,” Symes said.

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