Let’s Build It Right

Ventura County’s long-held dream of a modern, efficient juvenile justice center is at last moving toward reality with the appointment of a steering committee to oversee site selection and fund-raising.

The committee will need to work fast to beat a March 17 application deadline for state and federal funds that could cover 75% of the cost, likely to total $60 million. By that date, the committee must identify a 30-acre site and a source for the county’s share of the bill.

It’s a huge project, as laid out in a consultant’s report officially endorsed Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors. It would bring together all branches of the geographically scattered juvenile justice system in one central complex of courtrooms, detention facilities and offices for all agencies related to juvenile courts--including the probation agency, the district attorney and the public defender.

The Times believes such a juvenile justice complex is a fitting top priority for a county that traditionally has set high expectations for both its young people and its public safety institutions. We fully support the steering committee’s efforts to locate funds to build the entire complex within three years.

And we offer one additional encouragement: If we’re going to build this model facility, let’s do it right. Along with sorely needed new detention space and additional courtrooms, the complex should include facilities that encourage state-of-the-art efforts at rehabilitation. We must not settle for a mere lockup at the expense of counseling, education and career training.

Rehabilitation of adult criminals is tough--and that fact alone justifies extreme efforts to straighten out young offenders. The best time to turn a person away from a life of crime is the very first time that person runs afoul of the criminal justice system.

“Kids are works in progress,” Superior Court Judge Steven Z. Perren told the supervisors. Among other benefits of rehabilitation, “there are savings in long-term incarceration costs. And more importantly, a kid is saved.”

Law enforcement officials across Ventura County have said for years that local facilities are so jammed, they thwart efforts at proper sentencing.

At the center of the problem is the county’s crumbling juvenile hall. It was built in 1965 to hold 84 delinquents and has never been expanded since, although the county population has almost tripled. Today, as many as 140 youths are sometimes packed into the facility--and judges are often forced to release dangerous young criminals simply because there is no place to put them.

The proposed complex would increase the number of detention beds to 410 and triple the number of juvenile courtrooms from two to six.

In the next few years, a new baby boom is expected to bring an increase in the juvenile population--and the juvenile crime rate. We believe there is no better way for Ventura County to maintain its enviable record of outstanding public safety than to build our juvenile justice system the integrated, efficient, modern facilities it has long needed. Stepped-up emphasis on prevention and rehabilitation will be key to this effort’s success.