Groundbreaking recently took place on a $17 million dollar expansion.
Brazos County judge Duane Peters says the new space and doubling the number of detention officers are part of complying with new federal regulations requiring one officer for every inmates instead of one for every 12.
Peters is also a member of the county’s juvenile justice board, along with the county’s five trial judges.
District judge Steve Smith thanked the commissioner’s court to “get ahead of the curve and build with the future in mind.”
The project, which will take two years to complete, adds 32 more beds as part of more than 37,000 square feet of new space. More than 11,000 square feet of existing space will also be renovated.
Additional information from Brazos County:
The Commissioners Court started exploring the possibilities of this expansion in 2015, even before federal laws went into effect which would require change.
The new portion of the center will reflect the October 2017 PREA law (see below) requiring a ratio of one officer to eight juvenile detainees. The detention center’s current configuration is on a one to twelve ratio. The Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program will be included in this expansion, allowing them to move into permanent classroom areas and out of portable buildings.
The project will give the detention center an additional 32 beds, bringing the total to 80. Interim Director Linda Ricketson says most youth will be moved to the new wing of the facility, though females will most likely still be housed in the existing facility, as there are fewer females than males.
The construction contract, awarded to Collier Construction in March 2018, is for the renovation of 11,400 square feet of the current facility, and an additional 37,450 square feet of new facility. The budgeted cost of the project is $17,399,000 and is scheduled to be completed in approximately one year and nine months (694 days from the notice to proceed).
About PREA: PREA [Prison Rape Elimination Act] is the first United States Federal Law passed dealing with sexual abuse of incarcerated persons. The bill was signed into law on September 4, 2003 and the standards were published in the Federal Register on June 20, 2012 and became effective on August 20, 2012. (Taken from the Texas Juvenile Justice website: https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/programs/prea.aspx)
Click below for interviews with Duane Peters and Steve Smith, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver.
