Regional leaders push to reopen Youth Detention Center in Leesport
BERN TWP., Pa. - A regional push is gaining momentum as leaders from Berks, Dauphin, and Lehigh counties ask the state for $19 million to reopen a youth detention center in Leesport.
The plan would bring 30 beds to a renovated facility that’s been closed since 2012.
“There’s an uptick in violent youth crime, and there’s no place to put these kids. They need serious rehabilitation, because it’s really, it’s a public safety issue,” said Berks County Commissioner Dante Santoni.
Officials say some teens accused of serious crimes are being released with ankle monitors or sent to facilities hours away.
“But there are some cases where there are some juveniles who have committed serious crimes, and just putting an electronic monitor on them is not sufficient,” added state Sen. Judy Schwank.
The proposed center would serve all three counties, and each is asking for $6.3 million to fund security upgrades and repairs to the aging building.
“The most important job of all of us as elected officials is to make sure that our communities are safe. If they’re not, no one’s going to want to live there, no one’s going to want to visit, no one’s going to want to create a business there,” Commissioner Santoni emphasized.
But not everyone agrees.
The Juvenile Law Center, a Philadelphia-based advocacy group, issued a statement opposing the plan:
“Lawmakers should act to reduce the number of children in detention, not invest more in harmful facilities.”