The Tribune

Monday evening UPDATE: According to police, just two of the escaped inmates remain on the run.

9.30am UPDATE: After another escaped inmate was handed over to police by family members last night, the number still on the run stands at three.

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THIRTEEN juvenile inmates escaped Simpson Penn Centre for Boys after gaining access to the building’s ceiling on Saturday night, with four of them remaining on the run up to press time last night.

The boys are between 15 and 17, The Tribune was told.

Chief Superintendent of Police Clayton Fernander said the boys were unarmed and no one had been hurt during the escape. The teens reportedly attempted to assimilate within a crowd celebrating Fox Hill Day.

Police said in a statement: “According to reports, shortly before 10pm, a supervisor on duty was alerted by noise coming from one of the colleges. Upon making checks, he discovered an opening in the roof and a number of inmates were missing. Officers responded to the Fox Hill area, where they captured eight of the inmates and returned them to the school.”

When contacted, Social Services Minister Frankie Campbell said the “ceiling of the building in question is an open ceiling.”

“Once they got into the ceiling, that would give them access through the entire building,” Mr Campbell said, telling The Tribune four of them remained at large yesterday.

He said family and friends harbouring the missing boys should know it is an offence to do so.

He said officials this week will examine the facility with a view to implementing necessary security measures.

“Moving forward, I will take advantage of my personal security background and I will use the assistance of the police force and other security forces that have a vested interest in this,” the former police officer said.

Mr Campbell said he is pleased the incident has so far resulted in no harm to anyone.

“I’m extremely happy about that,” he said.

“The boys who were brought back while we were there, EMS was on the scene and they assisted with checking them out and ensuring they didn’t have any health issue. A parent brought back one of his sons, so he too should be commended. I’m trusting parents of the other four will take that same example.”

Escapes from the juvenile detention facility are not uncommon. In 2011, five boys escaped on a Saturday evening. Less than a year later, seven inmates escaped on a Sunday.

At the time, then Social Services Minister Melanie Griffin spoke of the “lapses in security initiatives” at the facility.

The Tribune understands that although not always reported to the public, one or two youth occasionally escape from the school.

Problems have also occurred at the Williamae Pratt Centre for Girls over the years, the most infamous of which was a deadly fire in 2003 that led to the death of two girls when an escape attempt went wrong.