Gonzales named director of juvenile detention center

After a six-month probationary period, Johna Gonzales has been promoted to program director at the McKinley County Juvenile Detention Center. (Photo by Jeff Jones/Indepenent)

By Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Call it a long training period but Johna Gonzales, after working at the Gallup Juvenile Detention Center since it opened in May 1997, is now the permanent director of the facility.

Gonzales, the daughter of former Gallup deputy police chief John Gonzales, has been serving in that capacity for the past six months and after a glowing review by her supervisor, Paul Campos, the job was hers.

County Manager Tom Trujillo said he was particularly impressed with the job she has been doing at the center over the years.

"She has been working there hands-on since it opened," he said. "She was recommended very highly for that position."

Knowing the job is important because Gallup's facility is a little unique in that most of those who are incarcerated there on a long-term basis are not local.

For example, the current population of 22 juveniles consists of only one local.

In an effort to cut down on county subsidies, which now run about $400,000 a year, the county has been actively calling on other governments to see if they need somewhere to house their juvenile offenders.

Gonzales said the facility now has contracts with Cibola County, the Ute Mountain Indian Tribe, the Zunis and the Colorado River Tribe. Talks with the Navajo Nation are ongoing.

The facility receives $95 a day to house the juveniles. That may sound like a lot but Gonzales pointed out that other juvenile detention centers in this area are charging anywhere from $110 to $125 a day.

Starting out as a staff officer in 1997, Gonzales worked her way up the ladder, getting experience and taking criminal justice courses she now hopes to complete her criminal justice degree in the next couple of years.

And while her father may have been a major influence on her decision to go into law enforcement, she's happy in the administration end and has no plans to go into actual police work. "That's too hard," she said.

But being head of a juvenile detention center isn't that easy either.

A few years ago, the center came under criticism by outsiders for the way it was constructed after several juveniles managed to escape by just cutting through the wall.

That problem was resolved, said Gonzales, by adding another layer to the building to make escapes a great deal more difficult. So difficult in fact, that no escapes have occurred there in at least five years.

Most of the juveniles that are housed in the facility, she said, aren't violent but the center does get prisoners who are charged with assault or even attempted murder.

Despite this, the center sees very few fights between the inmates.

Gonzales attributes this to the fact that the 14 staff members keep a strong watch on their activities.

"Someone in our staff is with the juveniles at all times," she said. "They are watched very closely."

With her new responsibility, Gonzales said that she would still like to see a new facility built to house juveniles here someday. And not only would a new building help the juveniles but it may also save the county a little money.

"We need a better built facility," she said. "The utility bill here is very high. It takes a lot of hear to warm the building"