PORTSMOUTH, Va. — In Portsmouth, there are currently no beds left at the juvenile detention center that sheriff's deputies are using.
Undersheriff Col. Marvin Waters, Jr. said an overflow is prompting them to take some underage inmates to a facility hours away on the other side of Virginia. He counted four minors housed in Bristol, at this time.
The issue partly stems from a Chesapeake juvenile detention center cutting off services to Portsmouth and other jurisdictions earlier this year. The move reduced bed space by the dozens, according to Col. Waters.
He said the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office has an agreement with Merrimac Center, a juvenile detention center based in Williamsburg, to use fewer than a dozen beds. Prior to that, Merrimac was already servicing 18 jurisdictions.
The executive director of Merrimac Center told 13News Now there is a cap on bed space in their agreement with Portsmouth for the purpose of providing adequate staffing and space to ensure the safety and security of all residents (which includes the member jurisdictions and additional localities as part of the Chesapeake fallout).
Col. Waters said their allotted bed space in Williamsburg is at capacity, forcing Portsmouth deputies to house some teen inmates in Bristol, Virginia.
"So, an average deputy that's coming to work an 8-hour shift is now basically in a situation where they have to work a 15-hour shift," Waters said. "It becomes a logistical nightmare because you still have to have lawyer visits. The juveniles still are entitled to family visits. It really becomes an issue because now we're taking a 15-hour drive to bring a juvenile back and forth."
"You're running out of beds to put youth who are supposed to be either in some type trade school, high school, whatever," said Shana Turner, founder of Hampton Roads Mothers, Men and Movement Against Senseless Killings. "Something's wrong and we have to look deeper into this to save our children and to save our generations. They need hope."
Turner lost her son to gun violence in 2017. She has committed herself to anti-violence advocacy work, especially involving youth.
"Also they need a leader, they need somebody to follow, they need a guide," said Clifton Williams, who serves on the transitional aspect of Turner's nonprofit.
Williams, who served time, is working to make an impact with Operation Determination Against Recidivism.
“To deter the youth, [men] and women [...] from going in and coming back," he said.
Moving forward, Col. Waters said he hopes Portsmouth leaders can secure a facility that is closer to Hampton Roads, "because housing them this far away is really a disservice to the justice system itself."
"Keep them close because seeing your family, your siblings, that's therapeutic in and of itself," said Williams.