Girls' escape leads to security review
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer
The state is considering increasing the number of security guards at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility since 10 girls escaped from the Kailua grounds last weekend.
Bert Matsuoka, executive director of the State Office of Youth Services, the agency responsible for state youth correctional facilities, said his staff met yesterday with Child & Family Service, the state-contracted company that took over the facility for girls last month.
Both sides will meet again to make final decisions.
"I also met with my own staff to critique what took place so we don't have a repeat," Matsuoka said.
Matsuoka said he believes that the number of escapees last weekend was the largest for any juvenile detention facility here.
He said the state is looking at possibly increasing the number of security guards at the facility.
During the Saturday breakout there were two guards to supervise 17 girls at the dorm-like setting, according to Matsuoka.
He said a girl asked one of the two female guards for an aspirin, which required the guard to go to another area of the cottage. The girls then overwhelmed the other guard.
The girls ripped telephone wires from the wall, took the guards' radios and keys, and fled in a van, according to police. The vehicle was recovered in Kailua.
One issue to resolve is control and storage of security keys. Matsuoka said the girls knew the keys were kept behind a door in the living-room area of the cottage.
For security reasons, he declined to go into detail about where keys will now be kept.
Dan Watanabe, director of development and external affairs for Child & Family Service, said the company wants to complete the security changes as soon as possible.
Some of the changes being suggested would probably mean a rewording of the contract between the state and Child & Family Service, he said.
Watanabe said the private organization is re-evaluating its training of security guards and wants to improve on physical security around the facility.
Matsuoka notes that state policy prohibits juvenile detention facility guards from carrying weapons around the teenagers.
Like a classroom of students testing a substitute teacher, "the girls apparently had this planned out for a while," Matsuoka said.
"They knew a new party was taking over operation of the facility," he said. "They probably wanted to test them and see how far they could get away with things."
Eight of the 10 girls remained at large as of last night. The other two were caught earlier this week.
Anyone with information about the eight may call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300, or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-2429.
