SHELBY, COUNTY, Tenn. — Five Shelby County juvenile corrections officers were relieved of duty Friday and are under investigation for “duty-related failures.”
The Sheriff’s Office did not provide any other details as to why those correctional officers were placed on administrative leave. This investigation comes the same week Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris announced plans to reform juvenile justice in the county.
It also comes as the county commission approved the first step in funding a new juvenile justice center Wednesday. Officials said the current building does not have enough space for therapy and educational needs. Harris’ team said a new building would cost a total of $25 million, and they hoped to have it built by 2022.
“We’ve had a long festering problem in this community with respect to juvenile crime, and if you look at most of our crime in this community, it’s committed by folks under the age of 25,” Harris said. “And we’ve got to do a better job of making sure we intervene in the lives of juveniles, and we rehabilitate them.”
WREG is working to learn more as to why the five correctional officers are off the job pending the outcome of the investigation. We will provide updates as we learn more.
