PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — The Pierce County jail is now housing juvenile inmates due to a staffing crisis and maintenance issues at the Remann Hall youth detention facility.
So far, four juveniles have been transferred from Remann Hall to the adult jail, but the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office has been told to brace for more.
A different section of the jail was opened specifically for the four juveniles we are housing,” Deputy Carly Cappetto told KOMO News. “This was a court-mandated order that we were to take these juveniles, and of course, we are going to assist and make accommodations every way possible.
The move came to light in court filings this week for two juveniles who are facing murder charges in adult court. In a motion to move the juvenile inmates out of Remann Hall, acting detention manager Steve Hill said vacancies and staff on leave have created an unsafe situation.
“Given the current staffing shortages and the increase in youth coming into our facility as of late, Pierce County Juvenile Detention has concerns for the safety and security of staff and all juvenile detainees,” Hill wrote.
Hill noted the eight proposed transfers to the adult jail are intended to be temporary until staff return from leave or additional detention officers are hired. Michael Stewart, a Tacoma-based defense attorney who represents clients at Remann Hall, said the current situation has been years in the making.
The heart of the problem isn’t the jail, it isn’t the judiciary, it isn’t the prosecutor’s office – it’s the chronic underfunding and mismanagement at Remann Hall,” Stewart told KOMO News. “Remann Hall is no cake walk, no doubt about it, but adult jail is a very different environment. We don’t want children in adult jails.
Stewart added that he believes it will take six officers to oversee the youth in the adult jail, when two additional officers at Remann Hall would keep all the youth there.
The Pierce County Correctional Facility has done the lion’s share of trying to solve a problem that is not their problem to solve,” Stewart said. “The jail can’t be the solution to everyone else’s problems. It just can’t be.
The order granting the transfer requires the adult jail to comply with state code for youth detention, which includes housing youth away from sight and sound contact with adult offenders, as well as educational programming. The order also prohibits solitary confinement.
According to the Juvenile Court Administration, 58 youth offenders are currently on alternative detention methods, such as electronic home monitoring. 33 youth offenders are housed at Remann Hall, with 30 of those being youth who are detained on cases that are being handled in the adult court, or awaiting an adult court determination, or are held on Class A violent felony charges involving firearms.
According to court records, all eight of the youth offenders Remann Hall is seeking to send to the adult jail have had documented incidents involving physical harm or threats.
“The court’s current decision to transfer youth is due to the current facility issues and staffing shortages that have created a chronic and acute issue at the present time,” Pierce County Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Evans told KOMO News in a statement. “The Pierce County Juvenile Court is working to bring the transferred youth back to the Juvenile Detention Facility and will be consistently monitoring and assessing current conditions to do so as soon as is safe.
Detention review hearings are scheduled for June 16 to assess the situation at Remann Hall to see if the youth can be transferred back.
