Mar 1, 2006 4:24 am US/Pacific
Juvenile Centers Also See Rise In Violence
(AP)
LOS ANGELES
Public attention has been focussed on the riots sweeping through L.A. County's adult jails, but violent incidents at the county's juvenile lockups are also on the rise.
The L.A. Times reports that violence at juvenile halls and camps has surged about 25 percent during the last three years.
Incidents at youth lockups preceded the rioting that resulted in two inmate deaths and more than 100 injuries in adult jails during the past month.
Four audits, three lawsuits and a federal investigation of juvenile halls chronicled numerous shortcomings in the system during the last decade, like understaffing and persistent violence.
The Board of Supervisors voted last month to spend $6.5 million to hire more probation officers to staff rehabilitation camps and the three juvenile halls.
But the county's probation chief says continuing violence and spotty record-keeping have been serious problems.
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