As recent juvenile-related incidents increase within the community, the juvenile detention center has reached its maximum load of juveniles it can hold within its current facility. Yazoo County supervisors and youth court officials will be researching available options to possibly relocate the detention center to a larger facility.
Yazoo County Youth Court Judge Betsy Cotton appeared before the Board of Supervisors during its recent meeting to share her interest in touring the former inmate work center on Jefferson Street within Yazoo City.
“Our current juvenile center is not big enough, and we have run out of space,” Cotton said. “We got two floors of zones. But when you have boys in both of them, you have nowhere for girls. Last weekend, we already turned away 15 girls.”
Cotton said Supervisor Cobie Collins contacted her office about the recent altercations among juveniles at the local schools.
“I didn’t have anywhere to put them,” Cotton said.
Cotton said the current detention center does house juveniles from other counties, including Madison, Humphreys, Sunflower and Attala counties.
“Last year, housing out of county kids brought in $73,000,” Cotton said. “Right now, we are one of the cheaper places to house kids than some of the other counties. What we are wanting to do is either figure out a way to add onto to the detention center we have now, or maybe talk with (Mayor David Starling) to look at the center on Jefferson that no one is using at all.”
The Yazoo City facility would require renovations to comply with juvenile standards. But Cotton said its space would allow the adequate separation of males and females and “would have enough beds, which would also bring in more money.”
Cotton also explained the court procedures that come with housing juveniles. She said her sentencing orders can only hold a juvenile for up to 90 days.
“That is the most a kid can stay in my detention center, 90 days max,” Cotton said. “If I put them in there for 90 days, I am also required to review them in 45 days to determine if they need to stay there or not. They don’t really get into trouble while they are locked up. A lot of times, they will go home at day 45. The biggest thing is we don’t control when they come. They control when they come by their behaviors.”
Concerning male juveniles, Cotton added some cannot be housed on the same floor.
“If you have an East Side gang, a West Side gang or other issues, they can’t be in the same area of the place,” she said. “We have lots of kids coming and going from Yazoo, not counting the other counties who pay us to house their kids.”
Cotton repeated that 15 females were recently turned away.
“(The Jefferson Street site) has plenty of space,” Cotton said. “And it frees up the detention center so that it can be used to house young teenagers on capital offenses who can’t be around the adults. I have four or five on circuit charges right now, as young as 12 years old.”
The Jefferson Street site has about 112 beds, two bays on each side, a kitchen area and guard towers.
Cotton added that juveniles from other counties bring in $125 per juvenile, per day, in holding fees. In addition to relocating the facility, she said a rate increase should also be considered, adding that increasing the rate to $200 per juvenile, per day, could collect about $146,000 annually.
