Four of the 26 juveniles who escaped from the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) at Onderneeming on Wednesday night have been recaptured, and the rest returned on their own to the facility during yesterday.
According to a police report, at about 19:00hrs on Wednesday, the inmates broke out of their dormitories and into the compound of the complex.
It is suspected that at least one of them had secreted himself and subsequently broke the locks to the dormitories.
The youths are believed to have jumped the approximately five-foot-high perimeter fence of the holding centre, and scurried into the thick bushes nearby.
The all-male group reportedly fled into the Onderneeming sand pit area, which is a short distance from the facility.
The escapees include lads under 18 who have been on robbery, assault, and even rape charges, but could not be placed at the Camp Street Prisons.
The Juvenile Detention Centre caters for adolescent offenders and wanderers between the ages of 10 and 18, who are sent there by the courts for a period of training and social rehabilitation.
An inmate can spend a maximum of three years and a minimum of one year at the facility.
Full-time training for youths in a correctional setting is the primary focus at NOC. Vocational skills training is available in the following areas: Electrical Installation, Handicraft, Joinery, Information Technology, Tailoring and Garment Making, Welding and Fabrication, Carpentry, and Masonry.
The NOC offers psycho-social support to youths in order to help them improve their self-esteem and self-worth.
There is an academic programme that allows the inmates to be exposed to schools within the community. They also receive the opportunity to participate in football, cricket, and track and field activities, cycling and swimming championships through the Ministry of Education’s sports programmes.
The NOC also has the capacity to do non-residential skills training for young people between the ages of 16 and 25, who live in close proximity to the New Opportunity Corps.