Kaufman County leaders, including Mayors and law enforcement officials, urge voters to approve the May 5th referendum for an approximately $40 million Juvenile Detention Center. The Safer Kaufman County PAC was formed to manage a countywide campaign to advocate for this smart plan to reduce crime in every neighborhood.
Currently, the sheriff’s department, police departments, and school district police departments are forced to take arrested juveniles to detention centers in central and west Texas. These transports take officers away from neighborhood patrols and cost taxpayers thousands of dollars each month.
“Kaufman County is a wonderful place to live, work, retire, and raise a family – but the increase in violent juvenile crime coming in from Dallas and other large cities is threatening our special way of life,” said Wendy Thomas, Co-Chair of The Safer Kaufman County PAC. “The Juvenile Detention Center will allow us to not only take dangerous offenders out of our neighborhoods but also provide much-needed rehabilitation and educational opportunities for troubled youth that need to get their lives back on track.”
The goals of the Juvenile Detention Center will be to:
• Keep violent juvenile offenders out of our neighborhoods and schools.
• Protect Kaufman County families and children from big-city crime.
• Fight drug and gangrelated crime in every part of the county.
• Safeguard Kaufman County tax dollars by providing costs savings to cities and police departments.
• Keep law enforcement officers on neighborhood patrols instead of transporting
arrested juveniles to detention centers in central and west Texas.
• Provide rehabilitation, reform, and education programs to help at-risk minors get back on track and prepared for adulthood.
Leaders were quick to endorse the public safety referendum, including District Attorney Erleigh Wiley, Sheriff Bryan Beavers, Constables Shawn Mayfield, Jason Johnson, Matt Woodall and Venessa Brooks, Kemp Police Chief Dean Winters, Forney Police Chief Carrie White, Terrell Police Chief Arley Sampson, Crandall Police Chief Forrest Frierson, Kemp Mayor Christi Neal, Forney Mayor Jason Roberson, Kaufman Mayor Jeff Jordan, Terrell Mayor Rick Carmona, and Crandall Mayor David Lindsey.
“As Mayor, I have an obligation to protect the safety and well-being of every family in my community,” said Forney Mayor Jason Roberson. “The County Judge and Commissioners wisely listened to city leaders and police chiefs across Kaufman County when they developed this comprehensive plan for a Juvenile Detention Center. I urge everyone to join me and my family in voting Yes on May 5 to make our neighborhoods safer and help us better fight drug and gangrelated crime while providing effective and compassionate programs for youth that need better direction.”
The plan for a Juvenile De-tention Center was developed after months of in-depth research with county staff, the Sheriff’s department, constables, police chiefs, and taxpayers. If approved by voters, the cost to the average homeowner will be around $2 a month.
The cost savings for law enforcement organizations that would no longer need to transport arrested juveniles could be worth millions of dollars over the next decade. This would free up revenue to fund programs that crack down on gang violence, drug dealers, and violent juvenile crime.
As the juvenile crime rate increases, so does the need for a detention center. Kaufman County media has taken notice of the increase in juvenile crime. In a November 28, 2024, story published by The Kaufman Herald, Judge Joseph Russell said, “The juvenile crime rate is going up with the population growth, but at the same time it’s also the seriousness of these charges. We got aggravated robberies, aggravated assaults, we got a lot of things that are involving firearms now that kids were not getting involved in, that they are now. And we’re talking direct immediate threat to the community. We have limited resources on how to deal with them.”
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.