Secure Detention Facilities
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In
1998, the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ)
opened two state-of-the-art juvenile detention centers.
Characterized by locks on the doors and other hardware designed
to restrict the movement of the residents and protect public
safety, the facilities were planned with staff input to
enhance residents' overall security, while allowing for
quality programming. Horizon Juvenile Center, located in
the Mott Haven area of the Bronx, opened on January 18,
1998. The Brooklyn facility, Crossroads Juvenile Center,
opened on August 1, 1998.
Secure detention
is a facility characterized by locks on the doors and
other restrictive hardware designed to restrict the movement
of the residents and protect public safety. DJJ's secure
detention program aims to give youth the chance to make
positive change in their lives. Detention is viewed as
a time to provide education, medical, mental health, case
management and other much-needed services. The facilities
and their programs are an internationally recognized model
for juvenile detention.
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| DJJ
believes that the success of its work with juveniles in
detention relates in part to our ability to maintain an
atmosphere where youth feel safe and trust the adults who
care for them. We also believe that youth must learn that,
in any setting or situation, they will be held accountable
for their actions. By their very design, the facilities
reinforce these beliefs and foster positive relations between
staff and youth.
The facilities, which opened in 1998, were planned to incorporate
and enhance DJJ's programmatic goals and support the Agency's
agenda of preventing juvenile delinquency. The design by
architects Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz maximized the use of natural
light and space by utilizing a center courtyard. Interior
visibility and natural light create an open, non-institutional
environment and enhance program options. Administrative
offices have large windows and are adjacent to the living
and program areas of the buildings. This design feature
allows administrative staff and Case Managers to have additional
visual contact with youth which enhances supervision. |
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| Facts
about the New Facilities
- The new facilities
are modern, low-rise buildings designed to resemble schools
or community centers. Each facility has 124 beds.
- Crossroads
Juvenile Center is located at 17 Bristol Street between
East New York and Pitkin Avenues in Brooklyn Community
District #16.
- Horizon Juvenile
Center is bound by Brook Avenue, Westchester Avenue, St.
Ann's Avenue and East 149th Street, and is located in
Bronx Community District #1.
- The facilities
are secure and self-contained, with all services provided
within the buildings , including school, meals, recreation
and 24-hour-a-day health care.
- The facilities
were designed to prevent any verbal or visual contact
between detained youth and passersby on the streets.
- Residents
enter and leave the facilities only when escorted by the
police or DJJ staff in secure vans.
- Both Crossroads
and Horizon Juvenile Centers have an easily accessible
meeting room that is available for use by community groups.
- Each facility
is outfitted with outdoor yards, a college-size gymnasium,
computer room, chapel and dining hall.
- Living areas
are halls with eight or 16 bedrooms, bathrooms and a day
room.
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