The great escapes

This is so not only because it comes on the heels of similar action by four girls at the St Dominic’s Home for Children in Belmont, but also it points to an unacceptable level of vulnerability when it comes to security at these establishments where young people are held at the State’s pleasure, and are themselves vulnerable to the societal ills that befall us, hence their presence at those institutions in the first place.

The situation, especially in the case of the St Michael’s centre demands a most thorough investigation. And it must not result in another of those documents that find their way as mere information pieces for some relevant ministry and satellite bodies, and then consigned to some drawer somewhere to be dusted off only when the next incident takes place. It must be the basis of resolute action, so that all parties concerned - the responsible ministries and those whose duty it is to report to the authorities on these institutions, the inmates and their relatives – could be in a better place to avoid the recurrence of these great escapes.

If the observations of people living within earshot of the home for boys are true, then someone is guilty of a great dereliction of duty and nonchalance.

One “neighbour” told the media that it is customary for the boys in their teens and being held for a variety of offences, some of them quite serious, to scale the fence back into society.

Newsday which broke the story of the boys’ escape in last Friday’s edition reported that they may have done so via a large ravine behind the home, from which they could have accessed several different streets within the Diego Martin area.

One person confirmed that residents have been terrorised by the boys in the past, as several homes have been broken into and vandalised. He says that despite calls for greater security measures at the home, nothing has been done to ensure the safety of residents, adding that the escape should serve as a “wake up call” to those in authority to finally take the resident’s pleas seriously.

But the boys also have complaints themselves if we are to believe a relative of one of them.

She says he has broken out of the institution on previous occasions, citing dreadful living conditions including being subject to physical beatings and verbal abuse from other boys as well as from security and other staff. For their sins, the boys should not expect a room at the Hyatt, but surely the time has come for all these matters to be looked into if we accept that the establishments are for rehabilitation and not merely for keeping bad boys locked away.

The issue of who should be at these institutions is another matter of grave concern. One of the boys occupying the premises and who is among the escapees was brought to the home for his involvement in the robbery and murder of former soldier Calvert Dexter James on J’Ouvert morning, this year. This cannot be a good mix, although we emphasise that even for a teenager, everyone remains innocent until proven guilty.

The Joint Select Committee on Human Rights, Equality and Diversity of the Parliament in a report earlier this year pointed to findings of staff shortages and culture as major challenges to management, and there was an absence of a human resource policy to deal with the reports of abuse at the different juvenile facilities. The time for action is now. As a start there should be no more great escapes.