Clark County Detention Center is Safe Without Segregation
Four years ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Johnson v. California that California may no longer segregate prisoners based on race except in the most extraordinary of circumstances. California argued that separating the races was sometimes the surest way to ensure prisoner safety. The Clark County Detention Center, the largest jail in Las Vegas, Nevada, continues to prove California wrong.
The Clark County Detention Center boasts a superlative safety record without having resorted to segregationist policies. Although the Las Vegas jail abounds with gang members, they are safer and more secure behind bars than on the streets. Fights between inmates do break out, but the watchful jail officials manage to intervene before anyone can get seriously hurt or worse.
The Clark County Detention Center does separate out its inmates, but it’s based on non-discriminatory factors, such as the severity of their crimes and their criminal records. Las Vegas Police Lt. Rich Forbus demands strict supervision and weapons checking from his staff, and he has jail officials continuously monitoring any and all gang activity. Jail officials don’t even carry guns, which in itself makes the Las Vegas jail safer--that way, inmates can’t grab them. “All we carry here is pepper spray and keys,” Lt. Forbus said.
