(The Center Square) – After continuous downward trending juvenile detention numbers, an update shows nine more juveniles in detention than the previous Oct. 9 report.
According to Chief Administrative Officer Erica Bryant, 22 juveniles are in detention, eight are with the Office of Juvenile Justice, 13 are at the Caddo Correctional Center and there are 428 probation cases. Previously, there were 13 in detention, six with the Office of Juvenile Justice, 15 at the Caddo Correctional Center and 423 probation cases.
Each statistic is slightly higher after two weeks, with Bryant noting the correctional center is officially over capacity.
The Caddo Correctional Center, capacity 1,500, has 1,560.
Bryant and Caddo Commission President Stormy Gage Watts have met with the district attorney, the District Court, Police Department, Sheriff’s Office and public defender to discuss the unsustainable nature of the current correctional center capacity.
“We used to think that if we got to 1,500 that was something we could manage, and now we are well over 1,500,” said Bryant to the commission.
In June of this year, the total reported population at the correctional center was 1,493, and 1,158 were pretrial detainees. In May, capacity hovered around 1,499.
The correctional center has sat at or very close to over capacity for many months as the parish and administration continue to discuss ways of improving the situation.
