Go after juvenile
center thieves
OUR OPINION:
WORKERS STEALING DETAINEES' PROPERTY NEW DJJ LOW
September 18, 2006
There is
something so patently offensive about the notion of
corrections officers stealing from juvenile
detainees that, for a moment, all words fail. But
then comes the outrage and disgust at learning that
in the last two years more than $100,000 worth of
juveniles' possessions have been stolen by employees
of the Miami-Dade Juvenile Detention Center. Those
strong feelings are somewhat tempered, at least, in
knowing that it was the state Department of Juvenile
Justice that learned of the thefts, is investigating
and has taken steps to prevent more such crimes. It
should also go after the perpetrators tooth and
nail.
Recent thefts,
too
Most thefts of
jewelry, cellphones, cash and other possessions
occurred two years ago, though state Rep. Gus
Barreiro, R-Miami, claims that items were stolen
within the last few months, too. Mr. Barreiro is in
a position to know. Besides chairing the House's
Criminal Justice Appropriations Committee, he also
headed a select committee that examined past DJJ
failures and is an activist on reforming the state's
troubled juvenile-justice system.
The thievery first
came to light, according to Rep. Barreiro, when a
detainee who was released from the Miami-Dade
facility tried to claim his property. Trouble was,
it wasn't there anymore. Miami-Dade juvenile-center
Superintendent Dale Dobuler then asked for a DJJ
investigation.
The thefts began
well before Mr. Dobuler was hired 15 months ago to
improve the troubled detention center, where Omar
Paisley died in 2003 after an agonizing three days
suffering from a ruptured appendix. He begged for
medical treatment, to no avail. Those who work with
youths in Miami-Dade's juvenile-justice system --
assistant public defenders, for example -- generally
give Mr. Dobuler good marks for his improvements at
the facility.
Even though the
Legislature in recent years wrongly has forced
counties to pay for juvenile-detention centers
located in their jurisdictions, the facilities are
run by the DJJ. They have been chronically
underfunded no matter which government pays for
them, and hiring and keeping qualified employees is
not easy. But still, having thieves on the payroll
is a new low.
Access
restricted
As a consequence,
the agency has adopted a new set of procedures for
handling detainees' property. Before, numerous
employees had access to it. Now, only the
detention-center supervisor and a small number of
employees will have access to the locked up
possessions.
That is as it
should be. But the DJJ should go further. The agency
should ferret out, wherever possible, those who
callously pilfered the possessions of the juveniles
they were supposed to be guarding.
