Pine Creek Juvenile Detention Facility (JDF) was unremarkable apart from its recidivism rate, which hovered around zero. Scholars and policy makers had made note of Pine Creek and there were often proposals to do studies inside the JDF to determine why the facility was so "successful." The administration of Pine Creek, as well as the Correctional Officers (CO) answered questions from academics and colleagues from other counties and states, but determinedly did not want any studies taking place within their jail.
Pine Creek was the regional lockup for juveniles in a county in an upper Midwest/upper plains state. Several counties in the area had approved its construction by a private consortium and it housed inmates up to 20 from all those places. Kids of 18 could still be sent to prison, but youthful offenders 18 and up could have their sentence made by the court to be in juvenile lockup. Also, offenders who were under 18 when sentenced would serve their terms in juvenile lockup until age 20.
Pine Creek was also noted because it attracted a wide range of over-qualified men to serve as COs. While some attributed this to the imagined innovative correctional methods that produced a basically zero recidivism rate, those who knew better knew why so many from around the country wanted to work there. They had doctors and lawyers and successful businessmen apply for CO jobs. There was a resume pool of several thousand, fueled by internet rumors, which lay in the personnel files of Pine Creek.
For this JDF was neither normal nor traditional. The zero recidivism rate was because no boy wanted ever to return there. The area where Pine Creek was located was a traditionally Scandinavian area, with strong Lutheran and family values. It brought shame on a boy's family when he got in trouble with the law, and after a stint at Pine Creek, he would be unlikely to ever break the law again. Like many other jails in the US, Pine Creek was privately built and operated, and like in too many places in the US, the financiers and shareholders were judges, lawyers, and other public officials. This ensured a steady stream of inmates.
When Billy Gunderson went to court on a Wednesday for his Minor in Possession of Alcohol charge, he, and his parents, expected around a $50 fine, and perhaps some community service. No luck. The judge gave Billy 20 days, even though school was in session for the 17 year old. Immediately after the sentence, the bailiffs took Billy, frisked him, especially up between his buttocks, and cuffed him, hands behind the back, and legs. Billy had to spend the rest of the afternoon in a small holding cell adjacent to the courtroom until all cases had been heard and the county sheriffs' transport van was leaving the courthouse. Unused to the profanity and roughness of the guards, Billy just did what told and kept his head down.
Several hours later, after making numerous stops at other courts, jails, halfway houses, and other places, the van arrived at Pine Creek. Billy was awaken with a slap, and shuffled, cuffs allowing, out of the van. Once firmly on the pavement outside of the low-slung and dreary-looking facility, Billy was led inside a garage-looking door. The sheriffs who had brought Billy here left promptly, and he was left alone with a mean-looking CO behind a desk. Billy stood in front of him and answered his questions as politely and honestly as he could. "Are you a gang member?" No. "Are you afraid of anyone in this jail?" No. "Are you a homosexual, do you like to suck dick?" No.
The CO then told Billy he had to be searched. He came around the desk with a key in his hand and unlocked Billy's handcuffs. While Billy was rubbing his wrists from the pain the cuffs had caused, the CO bent down, while keeping an eye on Billy, and unlocked the leg restraints. Billy felt free for a second, the cuffs had been painful and shameful. His relief was short lived as the CO barked at him: "hands in front." Billy complied, and the same cuffs were quickly re-attached to his wrists, though this time in front of him. It was only when the CO's eyes darted up that Billy glanced and saw a hook in the ceiling. The CO promptly raised Billy's cuffed hands up, and looped the chain over the hook, almost keeping Billy on his tip toes.
The CO began his inspection. Immediately, he unbuckled Billy's belt and pulled it harshly out of its loops on Billy's suit pants. He threw the belt into a corner of the small room and began to undo Billy's suit trousers. With those down, he pulled at Billy's boxers and forced them to his calves as well. Bending down, he pulled both free of Billy's feet and quickly got back in the youth's face. "Are you hiding anything?" he barked. No, Billy said. "We'll see" the CO retorted. Starting at Billy's feet, the CO rubbed and probed every nook and cranny. Between the toes, under the feet, wherever. He spent a long time pulling on Billy's low-hanging balls, and fingering behind them, as if you could hide anything there anyway. Similar attention was paid to Billy's dick. About 5" soft and uncircumcised, it was prized to Billy.
After examining the boy's genitals for 10 minutes or so, the CO abruptly moved behind Billy. He rubbed then patted the boy's butt, and gave it a slap. "Stand easy" the CO said. Billy did not know how he could stand easy, so kept in his frozen position. The CO undid Billy's cuffs from the ceiling hook, and then unlocked them. "Grab your ankles" the CO barked. Billy did so. The CO was looking at his butthole, Billy could tell. "Get your hands back there and fingerfuck yourself" the CO commanded. Billy, compliant till now, instead stood up and yelled no fuckin way. The words had barely escaped his mouth when he felt a blinding pain.
Waking up groggy in a strange place, Billy saw other young men in the small cell he was in. "Hey dude, are you ok? Wake up man. I'm Olafson, you're in my cell. What the fuck did you do in intake? They tased you and beat you up some. You're in punishment now, I've never heard of a guy coming straight into punishment. Call me Eric, are you ok?"
Billy was seeing hazily and had no recollection of anything past his court appearance the day before. "I am ok," he replied, "What the fuck's going on?"
At the same time, Billy felt bruises and pains on his body, and instinctively reached to press and feel them. His wrists immediately caught, and he realized he was recuffed. "Sorry man," Eric said, "Dude this is punishment block, you're always cuffed." Billy's hands were cuffed to a chain that was tight around his slim waist, with only about three inches slack between the cuffs and the waist chain. Billy would later learn that this was called 'low cuff' and was unbelievably preferable to 'high cuff' which consisted of a neck chain with handcuffs split off each side with about four inches of chain between cuff and chain. Some of the COs, who had been psychologists or psychiatrists in previous lives, had determined that this was suitable punishment. Teen boys like to fidget, make signals with their hands, scratch themselves, rub themselves, put their hands down their pants, and all kinds of things. Keeping a boy cuffed 24 hours a day was true punishment. But that was actually only a small part of the punishment meted out in the disciplinary block at Pine Creek.