juvenile hall tours

Times of San Diego

Local News and Opinion for San Diego

Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility Opens Doors to Public Tours

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)

The San Diego County Probation Department and the juvenile court will be hosting public tours of the Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility , as part of a “cared straight” campaign, officials announced.

The nearly one-hour free tours are offered in English and Spanish, and will take place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. They are open to the entire community and no reservations are required.

“Probation officials and staff want to invite everyone to learn what it is like for detained youth and what kind of programs are offered to help young people and their families that struggle with behavioral or emotional issues underlying juvenile crime,” according to a county news release.

During the tours, the public will walk through a juvenile court room, a classroom, a recreation room and living quarters. Visitors will also get to see the uniforms, communal showers, food and daily juvenile hall schedule.

For privacy, the tours will be routed through an empty unit and none of the detained youth will be visible.

The juvenile hall tours are offered on one day every other year. Past open houses have attracted thousands of visitors including families, youth and school clubs, and other groups, according to the county.

Backpacks, purses, cameras, weapons, food, drink and tobacco products are prohibited on the tour.

The Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility is located at 2851 Meadow Lark Drive.

Visitors Get Behind-The-Scenes Look at Juvenile Hall

The annual open house event is designed for local teens, parents and mentors, by monica garske • published may 18, 2013 • updated on may 18, 2013 at 3:04 pm.

More than 3,000 people, namely parents, mentors and teens, made their way into the Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility on Saturday to get an inside look at what it’s really like to live in custody.

Juvenile Hall officials held their annual open house event for the public from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the facility located on Meadow Lark Drive.

Organizers say the behind-the-scenes tour is designed to be an eye-opening experience of what life is like for youth in custody. With probation officers serving as tour guides for the day, teen visitors come to understand the serious consequences of poor decisions and illegal behavior.

The open house includes a look into the juvenile courtroom process, as well as living conditions at Juvenile Hall, including simple uniforms, showers and locked rooms that become a part of daily live in custody.

At times throughout the tour, probation officers tell young visitors to walk single file with their arms crossed, in the controlled style of real-life detainees.

Organizers say the main goal is to prevent more local youths from winding up in Juvenile Hall.

During Saturday’s event, that message was loud and clear.

Share your feedback with NBC 7 San Diego

Carlsbad woman celebrates her 104th birthday

One local 14-year-old boy, who’s currently living in a group home, toured the premises with chaperones and told NBC 7 that the visit made him want to behave well and not get into illegal activity.

Another visitor, Kathleen Donnelly – who was once in custody at the Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility – attended the event as a reminder of how far she’s come. She told NBC 7 she’s turned her life around since her days in custody.

“I was an inmate here when I was 17. It was a big part of what changed my life. I experienced a lot here; a lot of discipline and a lot of change,” Donnelly told NBC 7.

According to the County of San Diego website, the Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility opened in 1954 and has a maximum capacity of 359 detainees.

The facility currently houses pre-teens, teenagers and young adults with an average age of 15. The teens who live there have committed a range of offenses, from property and drug-related offenses to acts of violence.

The facility provides structured educational and social programming to youth in custody that’s designed to address the root of their delinquent behaviors and reform the way they choose to live.  

Juvenile Hall tour stops for reality checks

• Show more sharing options
• Copy Link URL Copied!

No cellphones. No Facebook. No bath gels or body sprays or cute hair scrunchies. And by the way, you would not be wearing your own clothes, and that includes underwear.

During Saturday’s public tour of the county’s Juvenile Hall complex , the list of things kids were told they would lose if they became residents here was long and harsh and designed with maximum juvenile discomfort in mind.

But nothing struck dread in the hearts of the touring teens like the realization that the list of No’s includes private bathrooms. Suddenly, what started as a teachable moment felt like a serious wake-up call.

“It was the privacy thing,” said Samantha Dow, a 16-year-old student at Hilltop High School in Chula Vista, who took the tour to earn community-service hours. “I love my privacy, so seeing those bathrooms, it’s just one of those things that you take for granted, and once they take that away, you have nothing for yourself.”

Now in its third decade, the annual open house is the only time these facilities are open to the public. The guided tours, which usually draw between 2,000 and 3,000 people, include visits to Juvenile Court, Juvenile Hall and the Girls’ Detention Facility. And whether it was the handcuff-equipped chairs in the court holding tanks or the beds that are mostly concrete, there were many reminders that while this is a relatively interesting place to visit, you do not want to live here.

“We have had some parents come to us and say, ‘Hey, that wasn’t scary enough,’ but I don’t support that approach,” said Mack Jenkins, the county’s chief probation officer. “What we hope kids learn here are that there are some serious consequences for bad decisions, and that some bad decisions are also illegal decisions.”

To protect their privacy, the young people currently living in Juvenile Hall and the Girls’ Detention Facility were spending the day in other parts of the complex. Even without in-person testimonials, the life-lesson bullet points came early and often.

As they walked into Juvenile Hall (also known as the Kearny Mesa Detention Facility), the minors on the tour were told to cross their arms and put their hands under the armpits. If they were living here, they would be going to school five days a week with no vacations. Physical education happens rain or shine. Pay-phone calls only. And the day starts at 6:45 a.m., no exceptions.

“If you are ever brought here, there is nothing your parents can do for you,” one of the Probation Department staffers said during the tour. “This is real.”

Outside, detention facility acting director Mindy McCartney was more inclined to emphasize the positive. There was a 15 percent decline in the average daily population of the county’s juvenile facilities between 2011 and 2013, and she couldn’t be happier. As much as she enjoys the influx of visitors, she doesn’t want them staying here, either.

“As much as it’s our job, it’s a good sign that the population is down,” McCartney said. “Our focus is more on treatment and therapy, so this period becomes more of a glitch in their past, and they can move on to be successful adults.”

More from this Author

Entertainment

Column: Tops of the pop: Retiring critic remembers the best from 37 years of pop-culture watching

Nov. 27, 2022

Column: From giant pandas to big-hearted readers, retiring columnist says thanks for the San Diego memories

Nov. 26, 2022

From sly sitcoms to music-nerd podcasts, a big pop-culture thanks for a cornucopia of entertainment treats

Nov. 25, 2022

Column: On Thanksgiving, a toast to the community comforts of San Diego’s independent bookstores

Nov. 24, 2022

Column: Gotcha! A new San Diego Natural History Museum photo exhibit explores our backyard wild animal kingdoms

Nov. 22, 2022

Column: The FX adaptation of ‘Fleishman is in Trouble’ will test your patience and reward it, too

Nov. 18, 2022

Los Angeles County's troubled juvenile halls get reprieve, can remain open after improvements

L OS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County’s troubled juvenile detention facilities, on the verge of shutting down over safety issues and other problems, can remain open, state regulators decided Thursday.

The Board of State and Community Corrections voted to lift its “unsuitable” designation for Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar and Central Juvenile Hall in Boyle Heights.

Both facilities could have been forced to shut down April 16 because of failed inspections over the past year.

The state board, which inspects the youth prisons, determined last year that the county had been unable to correct problems including inadequate safety checks, low staffing, use of force and a lack of recreation and exercise.

Board chair Linda Penner said while the county had made some improvements, officials should not consider the outcome of the vote “mission accomplished," the Southern California News Group reported.

“Your mission now is sustainability and durability. We need continued compliance," Penner said.

Only six of the 13 board members supported keeping the lockups open. Three voted against it, saying they did not believe Los Angeles County could maintain improvements at the facilities long-term. The other four abstained or recused themselves.

Board members warned the county that if future inspections result in an unsuitable designation, they would not hesitate to close the facilities.

The Los Angeles County Probation Department, which oversees the juvenile halls, said it was stabilizing staffing levels and improving training procedures. Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa said his department acknowledges “the ongoing concerns and acknowledge there’s still much more to be done.”

The Peace and Justice Law Center, which advocates for prison reform, said the juvenile halls need “real fixes, not temporary Band-Aids.” Co-Execuitve Director Sean Garcia-Leys told the news group that the nonprofit plans to conduct a private audit to try to determine “why the board has reversed itself and decided a few weeks of compliance with standards outweigh the years of failure to meet minimum standards.”

The board’s decision comes after California phased out its three remaining state-run youth prisons and shifting the responsibility to counties.

The shift to local control is the final step in a lengthy reform effort driven in part by a class-action lawsuit and incentives for counties to keep youths out of the state system. The state-run system has a troubled history marked by inmate suicides and brawls.

Los Angeles County's troubled juvenile halls get reprieve, can remain open after improvements

State regulators have decided Los Angeles County’s troubled juvenile detention facilities, on the verge of shutting down over safety issues and other problems, can remain open

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles County’s troubled juvenile detention facilities, on the verge of shutting down over safety issues and other problems, can remain open, state regulators decided Thursday.

The Board of State and Community Corrections voted to lift its “unsuitable” designation for Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar and Central Juvenile Hall in Boyle Heights.

Both facilities could have been forced to shut down April 16 because of failed inspections over the past year.

The state board, which inspects the youth prisons, determined last year that the county had been unable to correct problems including inadequate safety checks, low staffing, use of force and a lack of recreation and exercise.

Board chair Linda Penner said while the county had made some improvements, officials should not consider the outcome of the vote “mission accomplished," the Southern California News Group reported.

“Your mission now is sustainability and durability. We need continued compliance," Penner said.

Only six of the 13 board members supported keeping the lockups open. Three voted against it, saying they did not believe Los Angeles County could maintain improvements at the facilities long-term. The other four abstained or recused themselves.

Board members warned the county that if future inspections result in an unsuitable designation, they would not hesitate to close the facilities.

The Los Angeles County Probation Department, which oversees the juvenile halls, said it was stabilizing staffing levels and improving training procedures. Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa said his department acknowledges “the ongoing concerns and acknowledge there’s still much more to be done.”

The Peace and Justice Law Center, which advocates for prison reform, said the juvenile halls need “real fixes, not temporary Band-Aids.” Co-Execuitve Director Sean Garcia-Leys told the news group that the nonprofit plans to conduct a private audit to try to determine “why the board has reversed itself and decided a few weeks of compliance with standards outweigh the years of failure to meet minimum standards.”

The board’s decision comes after California phased out its three remaining state-run youth prisons and shifting the responsibility to counties.

The shift to local control is the final step in a lengthy reform effort driven in part by a class-action lawsuit and incentives for counties to keep youths out of the state system. The state-run system has a troubled history marked by inmate suicides and brawls.

Related Topics

• Los Angeles

Top Stories

Senate kills Mayorkas impeachment trial, votes both articles 'unconstitutional'

• 33 minutes ago

Trump hush money trial: Prosecutors want to question Trump about civil cases

Nobel-winning molecular biologist on the consequences of aging

• Apr 17, 12:05 PM

Trump, campaigning after court, comments on jurors in historic trial

Hero hockey fan blocks puck from hitting 4-year-old boy

• Apr 17, 8:35 AM

ABC News Live

24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events

In nick of time, L.A. County adds staff to keep juvenile halls open. Many are skeptical it’ll last

• Show more sharing options
• Copy Link URL Copied!

Los Angeles County once again narrowly averted a shutdown of its two juvenile halls, bolstering staffing enough to temporarily appease state regulators.

In February, the Board of State and Community Corrections gave the county a deadline: They had two months to improve dire conditions inside the halls or get everyone out.

On Thursday, the state board said the eleventh-hour improvements to Los Padrinos in Downey and Barry J. Nidorf in Sylmar had done the job. They voted 6 to 3 to let the county’s Probation Department keep its two troubled halls open, primarily thanks to beefed-up staffing levels. One member abstained and two recused themselves.

This means the roughly 350 youths in county custody will stay put — unless the staffing starts to slip again.

“Your mission now is sustainability,” said Linda Penner, who chairs the state board.

State orders L.A. County to move nearly 300 youths out of ‘unsuitable’ juvenile halls

State regulators had given L.A. County multiple opportunities to bring the juvenile facilities in Sylmar and Boyle Heights into compliance.

May 23, 2023

Over the last few years, L.A. County has repeatedly come under fire from the board, which oversees correctional facilities statewide, for incarcerating young people in dangerous facilities. Last year, the oversight board ordered all youths out of Central Juvenile Hall in Boyle Heights and most out of Nidorf after the county repeatedly failed to correct problems inside. Roughly 300 youths were transferred to Los Padrinos, which quickly became beset by similar issues .

The problems at each facility mostly stem from meager staffing. Many employees have said the halls are too dangerous to work in. There often weren’t enough employees on hand to take youths to their programs, classes or, when necessary, to the bathroom. Deputies have reported an increase in violent incidents , traumatizing both youths and staff.

At Thursday’s meeting in Sacramento, inspectors painted a rosier picture of conditions inside the halls, noting staffing had increased at both places. The agency pulled probation staff who usually work in the field and placed them in the halls, helping them meet minimum staffing requirements.

Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa, who used to be a member of the state board, said the agency had made “great strides” recently in staffing the facilities and cheered the decision to let them keep operating.

“While today’s ... decision marks a milestone in that effort, we note the ongoing concerns and acknowledge there’s still much more to be done,” he said.

About 285 young people are confined at Los Padrinos, according to numbers provided by the probation oversight commission. About 67 are confined at Barry J. Nidorf, all of whom have been accused of more serious crimes.

At Thursday’s meeting, many advocates — as well as some on the state board — appeared deeply skeptical the improvements would last more than a few weeks.

“The problems in our juvenile halls need real fixes, not temporary band-aids,” said Sean Garcia-Leys, head of the Peace and Justice Law Center and member of the probation oversight commission. “No one believes the department can keep pulling hundreds of probation officers away from their other jobs to work in the facilities.”

One board member called the staffing issue “the elephant in the room.”

8 L.A. County probation officers placed on leave for allegedly allowing beatdown at Los Padrinos

Sources told The Times the probation officers are accused of standing by and allowing a group of youths to batter another teen in custody.

Jan. 11, 2024

“Most people would reasonably say there’s a band-aid approach employed to the staffing problem,” said board member Brian Richart, the chief probation officer for El Dorado County.

Dozens of advocates urged board members to close the halls, detailing a litany of scandals in the last year, including eight probation officers placed on leave after allegedly watching a youth get beaten and the fatal overdose of an 18-year-old. Protesters temporarily shut down the L.A. County Board of Supervisors meeting earlier this week protesting poor conditions inside the halls.

“Be honest with yourselves,” Axel Pecero, of the advocacy group California Youth Connection, said at Thursday’s meeting. “If your child was arrested tomorrow, would you feel comfortable with them spending even one night in these facilities?”

Allison Ganter, deputy director with the state board, said she found in her recent inspections that safety checks were up and room confinement was down. Youths appeared to be getting more programming and school time. Deputies were missing work less than usual.

But she, too, seemed skeptical the agency could maintain the level of staffing that spurred the fixes.

“Given past experience, I would say I don’t have a lot of confidence,” she said. But, “given recent numbers, I have hope.”

More to Read

Editorial: Juvenile probation failures have left L.A.’s troubled kids nowhere to go

April 8, 2024

Ex-probation chief’s suit alleges L.A. County fired him for being a whistleblower

March 7, 2024

L.A. County has 2 months to fix problems in juvenile hall — or get everyone out. Again

Feb. 15, 2024

Start your day right

Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Rebecca Ellis covers Los Angeles County government for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered Portland city government for Oregon Public Broadcasting. Before OPB, Ellis wrote for the Miami Herald, freelanced for the Providence Journal and reported as a Kroc fellow at NPR in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Brown University in 2018. She was named a finalist for the 2022 Livingston Awards for her investigation into abuses within Portland’s private security industry.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Opinion: USC got it wrong in canceling valedictorian’s speech. Here’s what the school should do now

Dad tried moving kids away from argument outside his L.A. store. He got shot and is paralyzed

After five years of closure, ‘glamping’ back again in Yosemite National Park

Senate impeachment trial begins for Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas

• Moscow Tours
• Customized tours
• Moscow for kids
• Evening activities
• Moscow evening activities
• St Petersburg evening activities
• Day trips out of Moscow
• Golden Ring tours
• St Petersburg tours
• Russian tour destinations
• Package tours
• Moscow highlights
• Travel Tips
• Upcoming group tours
• Moscow events

The wonders of Moscow metro

Request form

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website, and to facilitate providing you with services available through our website. By continuing to use our website, you accept our use of cookies, the terms of our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service . I agree

• Contact Us 141 Pryor St. SW Atlanta, GA 30303 404-612-4000 [email protected]

Happening in Fulton: District 1 Town Hall Meeting 04/11/2024

• Fulton Home

Share This Story

District 1 Commissioner Bridget Thorne welcomed a variety of subject matter experts to her town hall meeting in Alpharetta. Residents were able to receive updates on county services and functions. Commissioner Thorne also introduced Fulton County Youth Commissioners. Hear more from District 1 Commissioner Bridget Thorne. I want to engage the people in the county as well as I want constructive dialogue. We don't all agree on things, but I want to find things that we can agree on so that we can work together to be united Fulton County instead of divided Fulton County.

Watch Video

San Diego County News Center

Direct To You

Juvenile Hall to Hold Public Tours Sept. 29

This is not a “scared straight” tour,” it’s a “ cared straight ” tour. But yes, you still have to keep your hands folded across your chest for safety purposes.

The San Diego County Probation Department and the Juvenile Court will be hosting tours of the Juvenile Justice Center facilities in Kearny Mesa on Saturday, Sept. 29.

The event is open to the entire community. Probation officials and staff want to invite everyone to learn what it is like for detained youth and what kind of programs are offered to help young people and their families that struggle with behavioral or emotional issues underlying juvenile crime.

Probation Department officers and staff will discuss evidence-based techniques and coping strategies as well as how a ward makeover has improved the morale of the detained youth, allowing them to better absorb positive messages for rehabilitation.

The free tours will be available in English or Spanish from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 2851 Meadow Lark Drive and usually last 45-60 minutes. Past open houses have attracted thousands of visitors including families, youth and school clubs, and other groups.

The Juvenile Hall tours are offered on one day every other year. The public will walk through a Juvenile court room, a classroom, a recreation room and living quarters. Visitors will also get to see the uniforms, communal showers, food and daily schedule.

For privacy, the tours will be routed through an empty unit and none of the detained youth will be visible.

Probation and community partners will also host booths outside to highlight community programs and resources available to families.

Visiting young people can receive community service credit. Reservations are not required. Probation and court officials prohibit backpacks, purses, cameras, weapons, food or drink and tobacco products on the tour.

Related Stories

Get County News Center stories emailed direct to you.