By admin 
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Children’s advocacy groups say Shelby County is failing the children in our community who need the most help: those locked up in the juvenile detention center awaiting trial or rehabilitation.
And on Friday, November 1, they pointed the finger directly at Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner.
Children’s Grandstand Tennessee wrote an open letter to the sheriff, saying the ongoing dispute between the Juvenile Court and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office puts children and the community at risk.
Sheriff Bonner would like to present the keys to the newly opened Shelby County Youth Justice and Education Center to Shelby County Juvenile Court and Judge Tarik Sugarmon. The how and when are still being worked out, but the initial target date of December 2024 gives Stand for Children breathing space.
In the letter, the groups expressed their “deep concerns” about the “abrupt termination of youth transportation services” to juvenile court hearings and the “hasty timeline” for transferring control of the new juvenile detention center from the sheriff’s office to the juvenile court.
“Honestly, it seems like a lot of the cases fall on Sheriff Bonner’s shoulders,” Cardell Orrin, executive director of Stand for Children, told Action News 5. “There seems to be a back and forth on the part of the juvenile court. ..hey, let’s come to the table and work on this together. And Sheriff Bonner seems to be saying, “No, here’s my decision, and go with it.”
Three weeks ago, Sheriff Bonner informed juvenile court officials that officers could no longer transport children from the juvenile detention center on Old Getwell Road to their hearings at the juvenile courthouse on Adams, near downtown.
“Because of the staffing issues I’m dealing with throughout the sheriff’s office,” Sheriff Bonner told Action News 5 last month, “I need those 68 officers here. So we’re going to get back the money that the county commission gave us to run that particular facility.”
Stand for children is also concerned that SCSO is transferring control of the jail to the Juvenile Court in the middle of budget season, further complicating the transition.
The conversations between SCSO and the Juvenile Court were so intense that attorneys were handling the negotiations and media statements.
Here are some of the things the open letter to Sheriff Bonner asks for:
- Resume youth transportation services
- Extend the timeline for changing control of the detention facility
- Restore opportunities for full family bonding in the facility, including expanding in-person visitation
“You know, there has to be adults in the room holding the sheriff accountable to come to the table and find a solution,” Orrin said. “Everyone cares about this. It doesn’t make sense that we can’t come together and figure it out for our community and for our young people.”
For now, officials say juvenile court hearings will be held virtually. You may recall that advocacy groups had to intervene earlier this year because SCSO still had not resumed in-person visitation at the juvenile detention facility nearly four years after it was canceled due to the pandemic.
Click here to sign up for our newsletter!
Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Add the headline.
Copyright 2024 WMC. All rights reserved.