By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
A PREGNANT teen, who is a resident of the Willie Mae Pratt Centre for Girls was arrested by police on Tuesday after escaping custody last week.
The 16-year-old girl, according to Police in a statement released yesterday, was at an appointment on Thursday at the adolescent Health Clinic on Shirley Street when she ran away.
“As a result, an extensive search and investigation was conducted,” police reported. “On Tuesday, March 14, 2023, while acting on intelligence, officers attached to Operation Ceasefire recaptured and arrested the teen at a residence located in the area of Windsor Place.”
The girl was said to be in good health following her arrest. Investigations are continuing.
Yesterday, Social Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe told reporters that, in view of the incident, officials now have to examine security protocols for when juveniles leave the facility.
He also confirmed that the escaped teen was pregnant.
“The details are such that we understand that it did not happen at Willi Mae Pratt and so it leaves the question as to the entire procedure when someone leaves the centre for medical attention and what happens subsequent so there are some things we have to look at,” he told Parliament.
“At all times, you are thinking and finding new ways to strengthen the question of general security, more security on both campuses whether its Willie Mae Pratt or Simpson Penn, we are tightening security.”
Asked to respond to critics who say the girl escaped because of carelessness on the facility’s part, the minister denied this, saying “one incident does not determine the effectiveness of the authority in place”.
“I think the authority is quite efficient. They know exactly what they’re doing. They carry out their jobs very effectively 24/7 so I believe it’s a situation where if you know all the details, she had gone to receive her medical attention that’s required of a pregnant woman and she went to receive her care and it was during that time, off of the facility where it took place.”
He also denied that his ministry had kept the incident under wraps.
It was reported to the police as usual,” Mr Wilchcombe said when asked about the matter. “We do what we have to do. The ministry doesn’t usually make statements. We have a responsibility, and the protocol is that you pass it onto police and then they carry out the necessary investigations and they do, very effectively.”
Escapes and attempted escapes from juvenile detention centres are not uncommon.
In February, a 17-year-old boy escaped his holding quarters at the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys.
And last June, a teen boy was sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services after escaping Simpson Penn and threatening a man with a gun.
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