NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office plans to address long-standing problems within the jail by building a new facility for mentally ill inmates and expanding an existing facility for juvenile inmates.
News outlets report the OSPO was under a federal court order to devise a plan for housing special populations and create jail reform strategies. The sheriff's office submitted the plan to the courts Wednesday.
Compliance director Gary Maynard was hired in August to help Sheriff Marlin Gusman create the plans. Maynard's recommendations for the new facility include 89 beds to house inmates with mental health needs, as well as space for counseling and treatment.
Maynard also recommends that juvenile inmates shouldn't be housed in the Orleans Justice Center, but that the Youth Study Center should be expanded to accommodate them.
