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Juvenile and Jail Task Force wants community input on new correctional facilities
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BATON ROUGE - Community members had an opportunity to share their thoughts about a new juvenile detention center and adult prison being built in East Baton Rouge Parish during a meeting hosted by the Juvenile and Jail Task Force Tuesday evening. Officials say they hope to learn what the community wants in these new facilities.
"It's very important that the public tells us what they want in their facilities," Mayor's Office Chief of Staff Julie Baxter Payer said.
Earlier this year, WBRZ got an inside look at the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail. Which showed mold, mildew and rusted fixtures throughout the jail. Officials hope to seek improvements.
"It's just a very depressing building, and I don't know how these people go to work there everyday and do what they do, and when you're trying to reach inmates, and trying to rehabilitate them, it's not conducive to that either," East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said back in March.
Grace Hebert Curtis Architects have been tasked with designing the layouts of the facilities and providing suggestions for guests to consider. Among those things are improving family visitation, security enhancements and what type of program to help inmates with rehabilitation.
"Our facilities were built decades ago and best practices in juvenile justice design and prison justice design have changed," said Payer.
The meeting did draw concerns from guests. Specifically about the cost of the updates and where a new juvenile center will be built. Officials say it is still early in the process and are wanting to get public opinion before making final decisions.
"We have to look at the current facility, what they're seeing staff wise and kid wise, collect information from the public and hopefully that will show us how big it's going to be then we'll get a cost and a site," architect at Grace Hebert Curtis Architects Alex Deshotels said.
There will be more public meetings in the coming weeks. With the next one being on Oct 29. at Zachary Library.
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