Crime & Safety
Largo Work Release Center Ordered Closed
Inmates were removed from the troubled work release facility and the contract with the organization that ran it was terminated by order of Gov. Rick Scott.
The inmates have been removed from a troubled work release center in Largo, which was shut down early Friday at the direction of Florida Gov. Rick Scott, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
According to the newspaper:
Scott's office released a statement from Corrections Secretary Mike Crews that cited "multiple violations of department policy" by Goodwill Industries — which ran the state's largest work release center —that were verified by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
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The Largo Residential Re-entry Center has been plagued by complaints about lack of oversight, inmates with substance addictions going untreated, sexual activity by inmates and staff, and more.
The highly publicized double murder of two St. Petersburg homeowners by a work-release center inmate originally brought the problems to light a year ago.
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