State briefs Report: Detainees provided violent, provocative video games

COLUMBUS » Staff at an Ohio juvenile detention facility purchased violent and sexually provocative video games for incarcerated male teens in violation of agency policy, including games showing crashes into police cars as a means of escape, state investigators said Tuesday.

Among seven titles provided to youth at Circleville Detention Facility in southern Ohio at a cost of $927.23 were “Need for Speed Heat,” “Midnight Club Los Angeles,” and “Mortal Kombat 11,” according to the office of Ohio Inspector General Randall Meyer, which investigates potential wrongdoing at executive branch agencies.

The report identified a total of $30,039 in “wasteful purchases,” which also included $5,240 in electrical upgrades for a new gaming room and $814 on fishing equipment that was never used, that violated state of Ohio and Youth Services purchasing policies.

Meyer’s office made 19 recommendations for how the agency can improve its internal control systems. Youth Services is concerned about the report and takes the findings seriously, said DYS spokesman Tony Gottschlich. The games are no longer available, he said.

Earlier this month, the agency said six Circleville employees were disciplined following an investigation into the death of an incarcerated Ohio teen last year, including two guards who failed to immediately let medical staff know that the 17-year-old was unresponsive in his cell.