California Criminal Defense Blog

The San Bernardino County juvenile court system has relatively few options for where to place minors who are deemed to need detention time. Most are ordered to spend time in the San Bernardino Central Juvenile Hall or the West Valley Juvenile Hall. Serious offenders get transferred to the California Youth Authority (CYA)—essentially a state-run prison for minors.

Los Angeles County, by contrast, operates a series of “camps” for young offenders that function as a middle ground between the halls and CYA. Minors get ordered to camp for 3 months to a year. Counseling, schooling, drug rehab and even career-training are provided. The purpose of the camps is entirely rehabilitative…to take the minor away from problems in the home and on the street, and try to instill in him or her purpose and responsibility.

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The Twin Towers Correctional Facility is known to be the world’s largest jail at approximately 1.5 million square feet complex. It is built on 10 acres of land consisting of two towers, hence the idea for the name evolved from that concept. The Twin Towers Jail in Los Angeles has an impressive jail system operated by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for the last 11 years. The security system is derived from the “panoptic” unique design of the building which allows the monitoring officer to have an all around view of the facility in one place.

This huge jail facility houses inmates that are on maximum security as well as inmates that have medical conditions. Inmates that require a variety of serious medical and mental health needs are also accommodated at the Twin Towers Jail in Los Angeles because they have a full-service medical response unit to provide treatment for the inmates both at the Medical Services Building and the Medical Center Jail Ward. All other inmates requiring comprehensive medical attention are transported to the Los Angeles Medical Center.

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.