WASHINGTON DC
Teen's escape raises questions about new youth jail
A teenager was able to scramble away from a brand-new $45 million juvenile detention home in part because authorities didnt believe any child was capable of climbing the fence. The escape, coming the day after the facility officially opened, has raised questions among D.C. Council members about the management of D.C.s youth offender program.
The boy, whose name The Examiner is withholding, climbed a few feet up a pole near the sliding gate at the New Beginnings Center in unincorporated Laurel, scrambled onto a nearby roof and then jumped to the ground and freedom, according to Councilman Tommy Wells. I think they did not believe a kid could shimmy up there, said Wells, D-Ward 6. Potentially, its a design problem. There was no razor wire on the fence, making it easier for the youth to escape, Wells said.
The boy fled the home barely 24 hours after officials officially cut the ribbon on the new juvenile hall. The home is supposed to be a fresh start for the troubled Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. At least seven children under the agencys care have been killed in the past year and a half. The New Beginnings center is designed to be more like a college than a jail. It replaces the notorious Oak Hill center where the Districts juvenile offenders had been warehoused.
Tasha Williams, chairwoman of the union that represents the warders at the new center, said she and her members tried to warn officials that the new facility wasnt adequate to house wayward kids, but they were rebuffed.
Around City Hall Monday, officials were anxious to get some answers out of DYRS Director Vincent Schiraldi.
Anything is better than Oak Hill, but at the same time you cant have a grand opening one day and someone escaping the next, said Councilman Kwame Brown, D-at large.
Schiraldis spokesman, Reggie Sanders, said Schiraldi was doing a good job.
City Attorney General Peter Nickles said the administration was standing by Schiraldi.
Hes sticking around, Nickles said. Its just unfortunate that someone escaped.
The boy remained at large Monday afternoon, Sanders said.
Bill Myers
1 June 2009
