An editorial from The Exponent Telegram
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — In the last year, things have changed dramatically at the facility that used to house juvenile inmates in Salem. The changeover to an adult minimum- to medium-security prison has gone exceedingly well.
The former Salem Industrial Home for Youth was a troubled place that saw a number of violent incidents, many of which involved young inmates pitted against correctional officers. It was a grim place not only for the youth, but for the guards as well.
The courts ended up dispersing the young inmates to other, smaller treatment centers, and the future of the Salem complex was in doubt. In addition, the future of the state workers there was a concern.
But local and state leaders worked together and refurbished the Salem campus and turned it into an adult prison that now houses 388 inmates.
It currently employs about 175 workers, 100 of whom are correctional officers. At the time of the transfer, the state provided training to the former juvenile guards and, as a result, many of them were able to remain in Salem.
Warden David Jones reports that violent incidents are down at the Salem facility, and they’re down for a simple reason:
“With adults, you deal with policing of different contraband, whereas with juveniles, you deal with more aggression,” Jones said. “There are less violent incidents.
“You have fights that happen sporadically. We’ve not had any assaults on staff by inmates, whereas with juveniles that happened on a weekly basis.”
Not only are violent incidents down, but as many as 50 of the inmates have been working with Division of Highways crews, and others recently helped do work on the Salem Town Hall.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of the changeover has been a significant reduction in the population of inmates in the state’s regional jails…