A judge expressed frustration Tuesday with Department of Juvenile Justice attorneys who have asked him repeatedly to stop an investigation into the local juvenile detention center.

Juvenile Judge Peter Blanc ordered the investigation in February so he could find out what help the state could give teens who are stuck at the facility. Juveniles are supposed to stay at the Palm Beach Regional Juvenile Detention Center for only a few weeks but are being held for up to six months because there is no place for them in residential programs.

Blanc and other juvenile judges want to find out what therapy or treatment the state should provide for the teens while they are jailed. Judges also are worried about acute worker shortages that have forced remaining guards to work 12-hour shifts.

Blanc appointed attorneys from the Palm Beach County Legal Aid Society to look into conditions and treatment options at the center and report back to him.

Two Department of Juvenile Justice attorneys flew down from Tallahassee Tuesday to argue a motion that asks for an end to the investigation. The review, they said, is vague and unfair.

"A report will come out one day, I'm sure it will be critical, and we will have no opportunity to rebut," said John Milla, an assistant general counsel for the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Blanc disagreed and said he was displeased with the state's assumption of bias.

"You'd just like it to stop, and respectfully, I'm not going to stop the investigation," Blanc said.

Department attorneys argued that the court has legal standing to look into only the safety and security of the program, not what kind of treatment teens are getting. But Blanc said he feels the issues are related. A juvenile who isn't getting the right kind of psychological help could be at risk of suicide, he said.

Blanc offered the state an opportunity to conduct its own investigation or submit its own report.

But he said, "I think I would not be doing my job... if I did not even look into this."