Should juveniles be housed in adult jails? | Events

Hillsborough County, Florida-- According to a release from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), community leaders and members of the public will attend the Hillsborough County Juvenile Justice Taskforce meeting tomorrow, April 19, to discuss Senate Bill 2112. 

Senate Bill 2112 allows Florida Counties to take over Juvenile detention, and hold children from the Juvenile Justice System in adult jails. 

The SPLC says that Polk County Jails are the first to have held juveniles in the adult jails, and that they want to prevent other counties from following suit because adult jails do not meet the standards developed by the Department of Juvenile Justice.

The center filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd for "regularly subjecting children held at the county's adult jail to abuse, neglect and violence."

For more information on the lawsuit, visit the SPLC website.

The Hillsborough County meeting takes place tomorrow, April 19 at 2:00 p.m. at the Fred B. Karl Hillsborough County Center 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. 26th Floor Tampa, Florida. 

It is open to the public.