About two-thirds of the boys and girls detained at San Francisco’s Juvenile Justice Center say they do not like outdoor recreation, according to a poll by the San Francisco Youth Commission, reports the Bay Citizen.
The commission has been concerned with the amount of fresh air, sunlight, and exercise the youngsters were receiving. In February, they drafted a resolution calling for detainees to have regular access to a large outdoor space at the hall that had sat unused since it was built in 2006 as part of a $47 million renovation. By law, juvenile detainees are entitled to one hour of outdoor “large-muscle” exercise each day.
William Siffermann, chief of juvenile probation, said then that most of the yard could not be used due to security concerns and staff shortages. Siffermann also pointed out that, “Some kids don’t want to go outside, and I can’t force them out there.”
According to the poll, only 10 of the 53 respondents said they participated in outdoor exercise every day. “When they did participate, nearly a third reported spending less than an hour outside,” the Bay Citizen reports.
The lack of interest in outdoor recreation took the youth commission by surprise, they said.
“It’s pretty clear that young people are not getting their hour a day outdoors,” commission director Mario Yedidia told the Chronicle. “The culture of the institution seems like it’s not really encouraging of outdoor exercise.”
All but one of the detainees surveyed said they liked visiting the indoor gym, but almost half said they used it fewer than four days a week.
Subsequent inquiries by the commission raised questions about the hall’s compliance with state regulations. Although a 2010 state inspection found no compliance issues at the facility, the commission and Board of Supervisors asked Siffermann to provide documentation showing how often individual detainees go outside.
Until now, staff at the hall has not recorded that information, but Siffermann told The Bay Citizen that he would report those numbers to the youth commission on a quarterly basis.
