By Kevin Buey
Deming Headlight
LUNA COUNTY, N.M. — The Luna County Detention Center has increased capacity for juveniles.
Warden John Krehbiel said New Mexico’s Children’s Youth and Families Department approved renovation to double the capacity for juveniles, and inspected the LCDC prior to certifying it for expanded capacity.
“When I took over as warden,” he said, “we could hold five juveniles at a time. It was one of my first major goals, to increase our juvenile capacity.”
Krehbiel has been warden since October 2009.
Before remodeling, additional juvenile inmates were housed in Las Cruces.
By expanding juvenile space, the LCDC will realize savings in cost of housing inmates in Las Cruces and in travel expenses for roundtrips from Doña Ana County to Luna County and back to Doña Ana County for court dates.
Doña Ana County charges Luna County $125 a day to house a juvenile. Krehbiel said it costs $105 a day at the LCDC.
Krehbiel said his staff renovated a housing area used to detain female inmates for a juvenile cell area. That required minor maintenance and paint.
CYFD certification required the LCDC meet regulations for training, educational, recreational and other programs at increased juvenile capacity.
As part of modernizing the facility, a staff break room was converted into a classroom. Four computers were purchased and loaded with educational software and Web sites to let juvenile inmates continue education, as required by New Mexico law.
Programs used at Deming Cesar Chavez Charter High School and Deming High are being used at the LCDC. The charter school uses Read 180 and Scholastic Reading programs, and teacher Rogelio Villa is at the LCDC from 8 a.m. to noon weekdays. Deming High School uses Odyssey Ware. DHS teacher Linda Dominguez teaches at the LCDC from 5 to 7 p.m. weekdays.
“We have received really positive input from both the Charter High School and the Deming High School in upgrading our facility,” Krehbiel said. “We look forward to working with both schools.”
Krehbiel said remodeling cost less than $2,000, with money spent on paint and labor. The project took less than two weeks.
“This is phased growth we’re doing,” Krehbiel said. “The first phase is to double, then we’re going to add 50 percent more, at the end of the month.”
The LCDC has a basketball hoop and handball court in its yard. Staff trained through the STAR (Specialized Treatment and Rehabilitation) boot camp program, which is now inactive, lead physical training periods.
Juvenile inmates have access to televisions, DVD players and Wii, all bought, Krehbiel said, through money spent by juvenile inmates in the LCDC commissary, rather than at tax-payer expense.
Copyright 2010 Deming Headlight, a MediaNews Group Newspaper