Bernalillo County Youth Services Center at max capacity for juvenile males
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –The Bernalillo County Youth Services Center is at max capacity meaning it is out of room for any teens who get arrested for serious crimes and they don't know how long it will take to change that.
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Within the past two weeks, the county's youth service director says there's been a 30 % jump in the number of males taken into custody. 'So, we're at max capacity for our male residents, and that's 66 beds,' said Tamera Marcantel, Bernco Youth Services Center, director.
Unable to take in any new young men and with only six beds available for young women, the Bernalillo County Youth Services Center is now facing a critical capacity issue with more than 90% of their 78 total beds taken.
'I know it's been quite some time. Just last year, our average daily population was only 54. And I can tell you that before the pandemic, our average daily population was, like, in the 20s. So it, it has increased significantly over the past few years,' said Marcantel.
The center said it's unclear how long the latest capacity issue could last saying it's dependent on the outcome of each person's case in the court system.
Each juvenile offender's stay can range from two days to well over two years. 'We're trying to figure out, is the data going to continue to trend in this manner? Are we just seeing the repercussions of the pandemic and the system is now catching back up?' said Marcantel.
If more space is needed the county says it can double-bunk residents but that could affect safety issues including the ratio of the number of guards to the number of residents.
Meanwhile, they said some solutions can start on the outside.
'What can we do collectively to keep them out of detention? Because really the last place we want our youth is to be in detention. So what can we do collectively to help prevent that from ever being part of their path or their trajectory,' said Greg Perez, deputy county manager for health and public safety.
The county is also looking to hire around 31 more youth program officers. They'll have a rapid hiring event next Saturday at the Youth Service Center on Second Street.
The county was also forced to shut down intake for new juvenile suspects temporarily back in June but that lasted for just a few days.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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