The state has opened a civil rights investigation to determine if youths have been mistreated at San Diego County juvenile halls, the Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday.
The investigation will examine conditions at the county’s East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility in Otay Mesa and Youth Transition Campus in Birdland, according to a statement, which said investigators will focus on “whether the county has engaged in a pattern or practice of unlawful treatment of youth” at the facilities.
The Attorney General’s Office also will review educational services provided to incarcerated youth by the San Diego County Office of Education.
The announcement did not indicate what may have prompted the probe.
In a statement, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said no determinations have been made regarding any “specific complaints, allegations, or the overall policies and practices of the county or SDCOE.”
However, if any unlawful practices did take place, “the office will also determine what potential reforms are needed to ensure that comprehensive corrective action takes place at these facilities.”
Bonta’s office asked anyone with information on the treatment of youths at those facilities to contact the Bureau of Children’s Justice at BCJ@doj.ca.gov.
The action follows the state’s investigation into conditions at Los Angeles County juvenile halls.
The Attorney General’s Office filed a joint motion with the county late last year to amend the prior judgment mandating improvements to conditions and staffing.
Though the office credited Los Angeles County for making “some initial progress … multiple serious threats” remain, officials concluded. The threats include, investigators said, the county’s failure to adequately staff juvenile halls, stem the flow of drugs into the facilities and to prevent staff from instigating or encouraging youth-on-youth assaults.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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