Guards At Juvenile Facilities To Be Armed With Stun Guns, Pepper Spray

DCS’ Jim Henry describes the department’s troubles to Gov. Bill Haslam. One of their biggest problems, Henry said, is recruiting and retaining foster parents. Credit: Bobby Allyn/ WPLN

The Department of Children’s Services is planning to equip guards with stun guns and pepper spray at its juvenile detention centers, where currently guards who watch over youth are unarmed.

DCS Commissioner Jim Henry told Gov. Bill Haslam during a budget hearing on Monday about a two-fold plan for its youth detention centers: transfer a portion of the population to residential facilities closer to the teens’ homes and step up security at places like the violence-plagued Woodland Hills.

“Now we’re going to continue to get these kids and try to de-escalate them through the use of other techniques. But the last resort will be the use of pepper spray,” Henry said.

Right now, the inmate to staff ratio is around 16 to 1. The department is aiming to improve that ratio to 12 to 1.

Haslam has asked state agencies to find ways to trim 7 percent from their budgets for the next fiscal year. For some agencies like DCS that will mean leaning on federal support for certain programs.

For instance, Henry said the department plans to transfer more teens out of youth detention centers and into residential facilities, a move that will make more federal funding available.

Over the last two years, DCS has moved nearly 150 kids out of detention centers and into smaller residential sites. “And there’s been no publicity, and I think that proves that it’s good work,” Henry said.

Henry mentioned that the department is planning to install locks on all of its cells by year’s end. Soon, he said, they’ll be asking a court if they can start locking them anytime. They already have permission from a court to lock them during emergency circumstances. A consent decree — a rule that came out of a legal settlement — has prevented them from locking them on a normal schedule.

“I think making kids feel safe is a big part of it.” Henry said. “I think the security step-ups will allow them to feel safe.”

In all, Henry is asking for $33 million to fund its youth development centers — nearly $10 million less than DCS asked for last fiscal year. Some lawmakers have drawn a connection between the drop in funding to youth development centers and the spate of recent violence.

The funding request for youth development centers represents just under 5 percent of the department’s total request of $730 million. Almost 40 percent of the ask will fund the state’s custody services.