District Attorney Dianna Luce, DA for the 5th Judicial District, told a bipartisan group of state lawmakers on Thursday that the lack of juvenile detention centers within the state presents challenges for her office.

“Our problem has become housing the juveniles, (determining) where they are going to be and then transporting them for court,” said Luce, whose office prosecutes criminal cases in Chaves, Eddy and Lea counties. She made the comments to members of the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee on Thursday when the committee met for a public meeting at Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell.

She said that youth accused of crimes, including those charged with violent offenses, are frequently given an arrest citation or placed on house arrest due to the lack of space in the state’

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