Frustration and fear dominated a hearing about the troubled Bridge City Center for Youth today as Jefferson Parish councilmembers heard from angry and scared Bridge City residents following repeated escapes by violent juvenile offenders from the understaffed facility.
There have been rampant escapes, inmate uprisings, overwhelmed guards, and other issues at the youth center.
Bill Sommers is the deputy secretary of the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. He admitted to the council that they have failed to provide a secure and safe facility.
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“We acknowledge…and that is why we are here today, and we met with some groups from Bridge City, we acknowledge our shortcomings and failings,” Sommers told the council.
In the wake of the problems at the Bridge City facility, Governor John Bel Edwards recently sent state corrections officers and state police to the youth detention center to help with staffing issues.
Click below to hear the entire Bridge City for Youth Center hearing.