By Lisa J. Huriash
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Blaming staff shortages and an unsafe building to work in, the Broward Sheriff’s Office will no longer send deputies to work at the state’s Department of Justice’s Juvenile Assessment Center.
Informally known as “juvie,” the center takes in any child age 17 and younger who has been detained for a misdemeanor or a felony. Regardless of which police department makes an arrest, a child is handed over to the Sheriff’s Office personnel at the Fort Lauderdale facility for a pat-down security screening and search for contraband.
Currently, the Sheriff’s Office staffs the facility 24 hours a day, and after intake, turns the child over to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, which is then responsible for the youths, which means getting them to their first appearance in court, as well as providing security at the site.
Public Defender Gordon Weekes said the BSO “letter was a surprise to all of us involved.”
“You have to have some form of law enforcement there to assist,” he said. “The quality of services will be diminished without BSO’s involvement in JAC. They are a significant partner in the JAC.”
“It may have serious repercussions how that JAC will operate,” he added.
In a letter dated Monday from Sheriff’s Col. Timothy Irvin II to the Department of Juvenile Justice’s Chief Teves Bush , Irvin wrote that effective May 2 , the Sheriff’s Office will no longer provide deputies to the Juvenile Assessment Center.
“Additionally, BSO will remove all agency-owned equipment and reassign sworn staff from the JAC facility,” he wrote.
He wrote that “this decision has not been made lightly.”
He blamed “the critical staffing shortages currently affecting the Broward Sheriff’s Office in the Department of Detention” as the primary reason.
“To ensure the safety and proper operation of the Broward County jails, it is imperative that we redirect sworn personnel to meet these pressing needs,” Irvin wrote.
But he blamed other factors too, such as “the discontinuation of funding support from external organizations, operational inefficiencies and the high cost of employing certified detention deputies at the JAC compared to alternative models used by neighboring counties.”
Irvin wrote that the aging JAC building has “significant maintenance” with “recurring safety concerns” that include air quality issues and structural hazards.
The Sheriff’s Office did not comment beyond statements contained in the letter and did not provide their staffing numbers or an explanation about the shortages.
A spokeswoman with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice could not immediately comment.
Monday’s letter was not the first sign of internal stress in the county jails.
Last fall the county signed off on an additional $34.7 million out of the county’s pot of reserves above the sheriff’s regular $681.5 million budget to satisfy Sheriff Gregory Tony’s request, which included $8 million for raises for detention deputies.
“The county acknowledges the Sheriff’s request for a continuation of salary range adjustments for Department of Detention sworn staff for the next two fiscal years and will prioritize this request consistent with the priorities submitted by the Sheriff,” the county wrote in its budget.
In June, Tony complained he was trying to recruit and retain, but the starting salary for jail deputies is $54,675 — with other counties pay much more; Sarasota starts at $72,882.
“People are leaving,” Tony told county commissioners at the time, referring to pay concerns. “We can’t keep people here.”
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