Juvenile Detention Center

The Hillsborough Juvenile Detention Center West in Tampa is a secure facility with 93 beds. Most of the children in the facility are being detained for delinquent acts and held until a future court date. The average length of stay in secure detention is approximately 12 days.

Many of these children are held in secure detention for 21 days after the initial arrest before the State Attorney’s office makes a filing decision. Read more about the criteria for pre-commitment detention in juvenile cases.

The detention center provides educational services funded by the Department of Education through local school districts. The children are allowed visits by their parents, grandparents, legal guardians, probation officers, law enforcement officers, clergy, and other approved professionals.

The child is also allowed regular visits with a criminal defense attorney who can visit them at the facility on any day of the week.

Attorneys for Juveniles at the Detention Hearing in Tampa, FL

At Sammis Law Firm, our juvenile defense attorneys in Tampa, FL, represent young people detained at the Hillsborough Juvenile Detention Center West.

Young people are held at the detention center because they are accused of committing a delinquent act in Hillsborough County, Florida. The detention center is located at 3948 W. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Tampa, Florida.

We can attend your child’s first appearance date within 24 hours of the arrest. We can also file a motion to change the secure detention order to home detention when the parents want the child back home.

If getting the child out of secure detention is not possible, we can represent the child during the 21-day period during which the State Attorney’s Office will make important decisions in the case, including whether to file the charges in adult court or whether to offer a diversion program for the child instead of filing formal charges.

Our juvenile defense attorneys can visit your child in the detention center and begin their defense today. We can help your child understand important defenses that might apply in their case and help them resolve the case under the best possible terms.

Call (813) 250-0500 to discuss the case today.

What Happens at the Juvenile Detention Center?

Once the child arrives at the detention center, a detention officer will sit down with the child and explain the process. After orientation, the child will be admitted to detention. The child’s personal items will be taken and held for safekeeping until the child is released. The child will be given clothing, hygiene items, and shoes for the length of the stay in detention.

The child will be strip-searched, although the officer is not permitted to touch the child. After the search, the child will take a shower and get new clothes, The child is allowed two five-minute phone calls to their parent/guardian or their attorney during the admission process.

After admission, the child is given a sheet, blanket, toothbrush, and comb. The child will then be taken to the mod and the child’s bed. Within 24 hours of being admitted, the child will be brought to the detention hearing.