Maine corrections department hires national group to review violent incidents at Long Creek
Sep. 17—The Maine Department of Corrections will work with a national policy group on another review of the state's only youth prison, an announcement that follows a string of violent incidents there and the departure of three top officials.
Commissioner Randy Liberty said in a news release Friday that an investigation is underway into five altercations in six weeks between incarcerated kids and staff at Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland.
"Both the underlying incidents and the response of staff to those incidents are the subject of ongoing investigation by the Department of Corrections and Cumberland County District Attorney's Office," Liberty said. "Any actions taken by staff that are not in line with the Department's protocols will not be tolerated."
He said the department will work with the national Center for Children's Law and Policy to conduct a "comprehensive departmental review of the practices, polices and operations at the facility." That group has published two other assessments in the last four years that found glaring problems in Maine's juvenile justice system.
Other actions including adding more behavior health clinicians who specialize in working with juveniles with aggressive tendencies and retraining staff on the management of mass disturbances and use of force.
Liberty also confirmed the resignations of Caroline Raymond, the superintendent of Long Creek, and Colin O'Neill, the associate commissioner who was in charge of juvenile services.
However, the announcement did not include all the specifics Liberty shared with lawmakers earlier this week. The commissioner briefed a small group of legislators on the situation at Long Creek on Wednesday, and several of them relayed that information to the Portland Press Herald. They also plan to hold a hearing to question Liberty in public about the recent developments.
Liberty described the actions of incarcerated youth during those altercations, including throwing furniture through windows, assaulting others and flooding a residence hall. He said staff "intervened to restore order" when their efforts at deescalation were unsuccessful, but the statement did not describe their actions in detail.
But Rep. Charlotte Warren, a Hallowell Democrat, said he told lawmakers that "armored staff" used pepper spray and headlocks. And Disability Rights Maine recently wrote to the department about the use of a dangerous tactic called a prone restraint, when a person is held face down on the ground.
This story will be updated.
