Baton Rouge task force wants new jail facility, better mental health care for inmates
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A task force in East Baton Rouge Parish is pushing for a new jail facility and looking for ways to improve the environment and mental health care for adult and juvenile detainees.
Members of the group have been traveling across the state and touring other jail facilities to learn what successful managers are doing to sustain a healthy, livable system.
“It showed us what de-escalation — showed us proper programming looked like to make sure that the inmates left better than what they came in,” Councilman Darryl Hurst, District 5, said.
At a recent hearing, advocates spoke on the issues they’ve witnessed in the EBR jail and juvenile detention center.
“We need to get off our butts and do something to correct the problem. The mental health in these facilities is terrible. They got people in there that’s not even getting their medicine,” Emily Robertson Etienne Wright said.
Previous coverage: Councilman says East Baton Rouge Parish Prison needs repairs
A guest speaker said the facility presentation should have included a description of how bad the smell is inside the center.
“It’s a deplorable place where we cannot expect anyone to be mentally healthy,” said one representative for an advocate group.
“Change that environment and remove the depressing atmosphere. It’ll change the behavior of the offenders and it’ll be good for the employees,” a concerned former prison staff said.
Hurst said getting the people involved in this matter is key to finding a solution.
He doesn’t have a price tag or timeline yet. He said capital expense to build the campus is just part of the overall potential cost, and they have to consider the personnel needed to make the changes they want and run the programs.
EBR Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said he is all for the new facility.
“If we have to send people out of prison, it’s costing East Baton Rouge Parish more money to house them out of parish that they shouldn’t have to deal with. And everybody’s paying more money for that,” Gautreaux said.
The next task force meeting will be in two months at East Baton Rouge City Hall.
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