BUNKIE, LA – Lafayette Police confirm they caught an escaped juvenile inmate within the city on Thanksgiving.
The juvenile is one of ten who have escaped the Acadiana Youth Center in Avoyelles Parish within the past two months.
In the second and larger breakout on November 17, seven juvenile inmates escaped. Five were found within a day of the escape at Avoyelles Parish, Lebeau, and Opelousas.
One inmate remains is still on the run, and the authorities responsible for their capture say more can be done to prevent more from slipping out.
“We take all situations like this very seriously,” Acadiana Youth Center Director James Woods.
His facility has been under local scrutiny after ten inmates have escaped from the facility in the past two months. Woods said anytime there is an escape, law enforcement is notified immediately, so a command center can be formed and the search expanded.
“I got there about 20 to 30 minutes after the escape,” Bunkie Police Chief Scott Ferguson explained. “There was nobody to take charge, so I went ahead and took charge of the scene.”
Some people in the community of Bunkie confessed they’re worried about their own safety, and Chief Ferguson said more needs to be done, “I’m worried about the safety of my community, and anybody can tell you around here the outlying people around this city are still friends, family, and I consider it my job to take care of them.”
According to The Office of Juvenile Justice, there is a total of 35 youths at the facility. The full capacity is 72. For every dozen inmates, there are two staff members as well as gates, surveillance and barbed wire.
Woods said there is a concrete plan to prevent future escapees, but would not specify due to safety concerns, “Basically we are looking at security procedures and making sure nothing like that happens again.”
Chief Ferguson met with youth center officials after three juveniles escaped in late September to review safety protocols and brainstorm prevention ideas.
“We offered when they get a plan together that we sit down, look at it,” said Ferguson. “We even offered to have mock chases with them to let the employees know over their how to handle and who to contact.”
Since that meeting, Ferguson said he’s asked to meet again but hasn’t heard from anyone with The Office of Juvenile Justice despite.
The Acadiana Youth Center isn’t within Bunkie’s city limits, but Director Woods said he is committed to protecting everyone in and around his facility, “Our number one priority is public safety, the safety for the youth and also the safety for the staff.”
If you have any information about the last inmate that remains on the loose, you’re asked to contact the Bunkie Police Department or the Acadiana Center for Youth.
