Browne offers safe escort to escaped juveniles

Chairman of the Prison Visiting Committee Bishop Charlesworth Browne is urging juveniles who escaped custody to contact him, offering to personally escort them back to police as he seeks to ease fears he says are keeping some of the young men in hiding.
Browne told Observer Media that some of the juveniles have a serious fear of the police and said he is prepared to act as a go-between and accompany them to the authorities.
“Some of them have this serious phobia of the police,” Browne said. “My number is out there and I would ask them to get in touch with me, and I would seek to pilot them.”
Browne, who also has responsibility for juveniles, said he would take any of the escapees to the police station and help guide them back to the rehabilitation centre. He asked, however, that any handover take place during the day.
“I prefer broad daylight,” he said. “So, whatever has to be done, let me know as soon as possible.”
He has also left his contact number with officers at the Bolans Police Station.
Browne said he has a personal interest in the case. One of the escapees had been studying drafting at the Harrison Centre, and the two had spoken at length as recently as last week. According to Browne, the young man had expressed an interest in returning to school.
He said he was unsure what happened between Thursday afternoon and Friday that led to the escape. He has since spoken with the youth’s mother and asked her to pass on his offer if her son makes contact.
Browne said he has received word that some of the juveniles’ peers know where they are and that the young men are now “running scared”.
He warned that the situation is serious. He said juveniles who escape lawful custody are normally sent to His Majesty’s Prison and that the earlier incident at the rehabilitation centre would also be taken into account. One of the young men, he noted, had been held at the prison and was due to be transferred.
Browne said the outcome now rests with the courts.
Beyond the escape, Browne said the case points to a wider failure in how the country supports troubled youth.
“They need help,” he said. “I think sometimes when you look at the dynamics in the demographics, you recognise that we’ve been failing some of our young people.”
He said many such young people show signs of trouble from primary school through secondary school, and some reach tertiary institutions before falling through the cracks.
Browne said a counselling programme is being developed to support young people in difficulty. It includes focused learning sessions and activities designed to encourage critical thinking.
He said the approach is already showing results, with a number of young people turning away from their vices.
According to Browne, the young men respond differently when approached with care rather than confrontation. “When you sit with them and you try to reason with them as a father and as somebody who cares about their future, you get a different kind of sharing from them,” he said.