A search has begun for a 17-year-old juvenile offender of the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) who pushed down a social service assistant and escaped on Monday from the facility.
New Opportunity Corps
The teen of New Amsterdam, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) was sent to the juvenile correctional facility to serve a three-year sentence on a charge of breaking and entering and larceny.
Guyana Times understands that at about 13:00h, the teen was being escorted back to his dorm, when he pushed the 61-year-old social service assistant, Dale Dowding to the ground and ran West out of the compound and into an area covered with high vegetation and made good his escape. Several workers at the entity went after the teen but he managed to escape. The matter was reported to the Police who also launched a search team.
Just last month, 13 other juvenile offenders had escaped from the said facility but were however recaptured several days after. According to information received, 10 of the teens escaped on September 27, 2018, and the other three escaped on September 28, 2018.
The teens had completed some chores in the compound of the facility, after which they started to run towards the said western side of the premises, which is not fenced.
Those who had escaped were a 15-year-old female of Vigilance, East Coast Demerara (ECD), who is serving 18 months for simple larceny; a 16-year-old girl of Bartica, Region Seven, who is serving two years for wandering; another 16-year-old girl of La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, who is serving three years for wandering; a 15-year-old male of the Essequibo Coast, who is serving one year for simple larceny; a 16-year-old female of Number 10 Village, West Coast Berbice, who is serving two years for wandering; a 16-year-old male of New Amsterdam, Berbice, who is serving 21 months for attempting to escape from custody; a 16-year-old male of Buxton, ECD, who is serving a three-year sentence for possession of a firearm; a 16-year-old boy of Tucville, Georgetown, who is serving 22 months for wandering; a 17-year-old girl of Mahdia, Region Eight, who is serving two years for wandering; and a 17-year-old boy of Lethem, Region Nine who is serving 15 months for burglary.
Back in 2017, oversight of the NOC’s operations were shifted from the Education Ministry to the Social Protection Ministry, to provide a stable ground for the youths to adapt to society after leaving the institution.
Youths between the ages of 10 and 18 are placed at this correctional institution for petty offences, such as wandering, minor assault and theft.
