NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The Charleston County Juvenile Detention Center works to prepare inmates for a successful life once released, filling inmates days with educational opportunities and skill-building programs.
The facility currently houses 26 inmates age 14 to 17 who have charges ranging from murder, burglary, assault and more. They do not intake those with truancy or status charges. The maximum capacity is 60 inmates and the deputies can take in someone as young as 12 years old, but they must have a judge’s order. Officials said while the juveniles are there, they try to balance safety and opportunity for them.
“We’re here to ensure the secure custody of the kids, but we want them to not get too comfortable here but realize that this is not their end all be all,” Major Dorothy Harris, administrator of the center, said. “Jail doesn’t have to be the end of what they want and we try to give them things – activities that can make them be better when they get out.”…