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| Report: Sex and violence plague Fla. prison for girls |
| By Miami Herald |
| Published: 03/01/2004 |
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With inadequate and virtually untrained staff and poor oversight, a prison for delinquent girls became a nightmarish place where girls were injured and sexually abused, a Palm Beach County grand jury wrote last Monday in the latest rebuke of Florida's juvenile justice system. The Florida Institute for Girls, a 100-bed prison for hard-to-manage girls operated by a Coral Gables company called Premier Behavioral Solutions, was beset by violence: at least three detainees suffered broken arms -- two in ''takedowns'' by staff -- and others were raped or assaulted by male officers who were not supposed to be alone with the girls. As staff struggled to cope with the violence, girls frequently were locked in their rooms and denied activities, exercise and even an education, the 62-page report said. Classes were canceled 41 times during a six-month period, due to staff shortages. In response to the report, DJJ Secretary W.G. ''Bill'' Bankhead announced late Monday that DJJ and Premier had ''mutually agreed to end'' Premier's contract. Premier officials could not be reached for comment. The report was the latest embarrassment for an agency besieged since the death of Omar Paisley, a 17-year-old who died at a Miami-Dade lockup of a burst appendix that went untreated for three days. Omar was one of three youths to die in DJJ custody over the past three years. The Palm Beach grand jury assailed ''an attitude of silence'' among staff that tolerated wrongdoing. ''The culture of some staff was to protect each other, fostering coverups and unprofessional conduct,'' the report said. Premier was paid $5 million a year by DJJ to run the treatment center. |
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