Courts say electronic monitoring of juveniles is a failure. A look at a possible solution
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — It's a system that some say neither prevents crime nor protects others. Even the courts admit their electronic monitoring of juvenile offenders is a failure.
On Monday, KDKA Lead Investigator Andy Sheehan showed how hundreds of juvenile offenders rid themselves of the electronic bracelets and face no consequences. Now, a look at a possible solution, though it remains a controversial one.
Two and half years ago, the state revoked the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center's license to operate and Allegheny County declined to fight the order. As a result, the facility was boarded up and closed.
Since then, judges have had no option but to place repeat juvenile offenders on electronic monitors — a system largely without accountability.
KDKA Investigates found that an astounding number of teenagers on monitors simply went AWOL by dismantling the bracelets. And if they're found out, they get a new monitor.
According to the county court system, in the past two years, there were 392 incidents where juveniles cut off their bracelets or let the batteries die. Seventy-eight of these juveniles did this multiple times, some being connected and reconnected as many as five to seven times.
"This system is failing, so what are we going to do about it? It's time to take a stand and make a difference," street outreach counselor Staci Ford.
Last year, the county court system awarded a five-year, $73 million contract to a private company, Adelphoi, to run Shuman. Renovations are expected to be completed in late April for the reopening of a first pod with 12 detention beds, but the contract is the focus of a suit brought by Allegheny County councilmembers, who oppose the privatization and question whether the county could enter into the agreement without their approval.
"No one disputes that we need somewhere for kids right now," Allegheny County Councilperson Bethany Hallam said. "No one is saying that there's not a problem. What we are saying is that if you want to privatize Shuman, you have to follow the law. And I would prefer if we didn't privatize it at all."
But through a spokesperson, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato — who also has expressed concerns about privatizing Shuman — says she won't stand in the way of the reopening. But under Adelphoi, she says she'll be appointing an oversight board to oversee the operations.
"Critically, any juvenile detention center – whether it is operated by the County in the long-term or a third-party vendor in the near future – will need strict oversight. The County Executive will prioritize putting an oversight board in place to ensure public involvement and transparency," a spokesperson for the county said in a statement to KDKA-TV.
It's only a partial solution, but most everyone agrees that if and when Shuman reopens, it will restore some accountability to the juvenile justice system.
