Violent fights, staffing crisis at Campus Kilpatrick
A January brawl involving 14 girls and chronic understaffing have plagued the juvenile detention center in the Santa Monica Mountains.
A new report says there have been violent fights at a county probation center that houses young women and girls in the mountains above Malibu.
In January, a fight broke out involving 14 girls inside a classroom at Campus Kilpatrick, which serves as a detention center for young females accused or convicted of serious crimes. One officer used pepper spray to break up the brawl. But that officer was placed on administrative leave for violating county policies.
Campus Kilpatrick has had several roles in the county's extensive and trouble-plagued juvenile punishment and detention system. The walled facility is in the Santa Monica Mountains, off Mulholland Highway west of Kanan Road.
A new report says the county has struggled to maintain sufficient staffing, with some employees reportedly working "back-to-back 20-hour shifts with very little rest in between." That is according to a March 2026 inspection by the Board of State and Community Corrections.
Employees have claimed they limited their own intake of food and water out of fear that there would be nobody to take on their duties if they had to go to the restroom.
More staff have been assigned to Kilpatrick in recent months, according to the county.