The Sangamon County Board in 2024 spent more than $362,000 on security upgrades for the county’s Juvenile Detention Center, including $132,500 for an X-ray body scanner similar to what is used in airports.
The improvements are hoped to make the center, in the 2200 block of South Dirksen Parkway in Springfield, safer for staff and detainees in the wake of a fatal shooting outside the center’s entrance on Sept. 30, 2023.
“Safety and security of all staff and youth has always been and remains our top priority,” Kent Holsopple, the county’s director of probation and court services, wrote in response to questions from Illinois Times.
A city police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old male, Camren Darden of Springfield, who was being detained there, after Darden somehow obtained a loaded handgun and fired shots at least four times – but didn’t hit anyone – while trying to leave the facility with a 16-year-old unidentified female as a hostage.
According to State’s Attorney John Milhiser, an Illinois State Police investigation of the incident failed to determine how Darden got ahold of the gun. Milhiser said there was no evidence to indicate whether Darden had an accomplice on the staff or in the general public.
Milhiser, who decided the police officer’s use of deadly force was justified, said ISP officials interviewed more than 50 people and reviewed more than 2,000 hours of video from the detention center and from body-worn camera footage as part of the state agency’s investigation.
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ISP cited an exemption in the Illinois Freedom of Information Act when the agency denied Illinois Times’ request for “any police reports, including supplemental reports and related documentation, connected with the ISP investigation.”
ISP Freedom of Information Officer Sarah Wheeler said in an April 1, 2024, letter that the time required for the agency to review and potentially redact 560 pages of reports in response to the newspaper’s request would be “unduly burdensome.”
In addition to the body scanner – a step beyond the metal detectors previously in use there – Holsopple said the county paid for upgrades to the 22,000-square-foot detention center’s security camera system, an additional metal detector and additional outdoor perimeter fencing.
“The most significant change to improve security is the addition of the body scanner, which allows better screening of those who are brought in to be detained,” he said.
Holsopple said the county in November 2024 finalized a new contract with the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council that increases starting pay for detention officers to $55,888 per year from $47,117 – an 18.6% boost.
“The early indications are that this pay increase has had a positive impact on recruiting and hiring,” Holsopple said. “We have had more applicants since the pay increase went into effect than we have had in years.”
More than 20 people work at the center, which has an annual budget of $2.8 million – primarily covered by state and county funds. The center can serve up to 16 juveniles at a time while they await the disposition of criminal charges filed against them in juvenile court. The center is operated by the county and supervised by judges from the state’s 7th Circuit.
During the 15 months the center was closed, Sangamon County juveniles in need of detention were housed at a variety of other juvenile detention centers in Illinois or they were released with conditions to parents and guardians.
Sangamon County paid $490,251 during the 15-month period for out-of-county placements, Holsopple said.
Sangamon County Administrator Brian McFadden said there was “very little expense” for out-of-county bed space for juveniles in the years before the detention center’s temporary closing.
“The costs for the out-of-county placements were offset somewhat by the vacant positions that existed during the closure,” McFadden said.
No cuts in county government services or employee reductions were needed to offset the out-of-county placement costs for juvenile defendants, he said.
Holsopple said Sangamon County officials have been able to increase the number of juveniles being detained locally, though a few remain in facilities in other counties.
The Sangamon County detention center is currently staffed with 18 detention officers, four supervisors, an assistant superintendent and a superintendent.
“We have one more detention officer scheduled to start in April, which leaves two positions still open,” Holsopple said. “Our veteran staff have been doing a great job of working with the new staff, and we have been fortunate to bring on a group of new staff who are enthusiastic about learning and working with the youth.
“As our newer staff complete their training, we will look to bring back all youth in the coming months.”
Springfield Police Chief Kenneth Scarlette previously said some of the juveniles released to local relatives during the detention center closure went on to commit more crimes.
This article appears in Young offenders in Illinois still serving life sentences.
