Durham County To Build New Youth Detention Center; Local Activists Oppose

DURHAM, NC – Durham County is planning to build a new youth detention center, due to open in 2023. Officials announced the plans via a press release on Nov. 17.

The expanded detention facility will replace the aging Durham Youth Home, located at 2432 Broad Street. The new facility will boast 36 beds – the current Youth Home has only 14.

The County has been batting around the idea for decades, but recent socio-political trends have brought matters to the fore. The Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act (page 309 of the 2017 State budget) increased the age of juvenile jurisdiction in North Carolina. The Act took effect on Dec. 1, 2019.

In March 2017, 17-year-old Uniece Fennell took her own life while in captivity at the hand of the Durham County government. Uniece had been detained alongside adults, who “assaulted and bullied” her during her months-long confinement. A Democratic Sheriff and a superficially diverse jail staff made little difference. Uniece was found hanging in her cell on March 23. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice represented Uniece’s family in a civil rights lawsuit, Graves v. Durham County.

The Graves’s judgment sent a shockwave down Durham’s Main and Mangum Streets. Not only did the County pay a 650K settlement to Uniece’s family – it also agreed to reform its draconian correctional regime. And reform was way overdue. In 2018, The Herald Sun wrote that “Durham County is one of the most restrictive counties in the state when it comes to shackling children who appear before a judge.”

It is important to note that Durham County is legally obligated to construct this new youth detention center pursuant to the 2019 settlement agreement. Additionally, such a facility is necessary to fully comply with state law.

So, do recent changes portend the advent of a kinder, gentler carceral state? Local activists are not convinced. Groups such as Durham Beyond Policing, the Advancement Project, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) have announced their opposition to the project. They believe public money should go towards other programs. Durham County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Brenda Howerton attempted to assuage these doubts in an Oct. 29 letter. Chairwoman Howerton declined to be interviewed for this story.

The 30-million-dollar youth detention center is sure to be a windfall for contractors like Bordeaux Construction Company, whose founding family has given handsomely to various elected officials. Bordeaux has won contracts for correctional facilities in Bladen, Brunswick, Chatham, Granville, Johnston, Harnett, Hoke, Montgomery, New Hanover, Orange, Richmond, and Sampson counties. Now, the firm has designs on 2432 Broad Street.

Find more information about the project here.