Allegheny County Council committee to look at potentially reopening Shuman Juvenile Detention Center
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — For more than a year and a half, Shuman Juvenile Detention Center has been closed after the state shut it down for violations.
But rising teen crime has caught the attention of Allegheny County Council.
"I do think we need to have a place to send these kids who are committing violent crimes that are too young to be sent to jail," Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco said.
On Tuesday, a motion was referred to the council's Public Safety Committee to look at a juvenile justice study to potentially reopen the center or something similar, though no exact location has been decided.
Some argued that a new juvenile center needs to be more than just a place for punishment.
WATCH: Briana Smith Reports
"It needs to be as sensitive, as comprehensive in its services as possible, as professional as possible, as clean as possible, as of service as possible," Black Political Empowerment Project CEO Tim Stevens said.
One man told the council a privately owned facility is a big mistake.
"We think that programs, we think that helping these kids, trying to keep them out of jail or any detention center is the best way to go," said Alan Guenther of the Peace is Possible Coalition. "But we think the biggest mistake would be to hand the keys over to a private jailer who is motivated to keep that center filled. That would be a bad mistake for the council to make."
DeMarco talked about his vision.
"I think the potential is for us to have a non-profit entity that specializes in corrections, that's the core competency," he said. "They have to get mental health or any other assistance that we can provide. But I think we need a holistic approach to this and this is just a small part of it. Shuman is not the answer to the problems we have out there."
Council President Pat Catena said he hopes within the next two weeks that the Public Safety Committee votes on this and sends it back to Allegheny County Council.
