By Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The Town of Davis intends to request that it be informed when there is an escape at the nearby Kenneth “Honey” Rubenstein Juvenile Center. The proposal was put forth by Council Member Carrie Hawkins at the Davis Town Council’s June 11th meeting.
Hawkins proposed that the Town be notified by the Center in the event of an escape. The Town would then use their alert system to notify residents so that they may lock their cars and watch for the escaped juvenile.
“It presents like a Town where you don’t need to lock your doors and cars, but sometimes you might want to,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins, who is a former Rubenstein employee, said she was concerned that escaped juveniles would come “straight to” the Town of Davis following their escape. The Council also discussed that in the past, escapes have led to car thefts.
“I think that it was a good, responsible thing for them to do is to let somebody who works with the Town, that they indeed have had somebody who has left the property,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins said that escaped cadets differ from the rest of the residents at the Center. The difference, according to Hawkins, comes from the knowledge that when they decide to leave, they know they are adding five or more years to their sentence.
“They’re not bad kids,” Hawkins said. “Its just a different, more desperate kid that’s leaving because when he gets caught he’s signed up for years more.”
Hawkins said that the Town was in the time of year that most escapes occur. The juveniles use the ease of warmer weather to escape, Hawkins said.
“This is the time they go because its easier,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins said that during her time as an employee of the Center, she thought it was irresponsible for the Center to not notify the Town of escapes. She also said that when escapees were recovered, it was usually a town-person who would see the juvenile in their yard and call in, rather than Center staff who facilitated recoveries.
Mayor Al Tomson said he would make an appointment to meet with Superintendent Keith McDaniel to discuss the matter. Tomson said he felt it was in the best interest of the citizens to be notified.
The Kenneth “Honey” Rubenstein Juvenile Center is a State minimum security correctional facility for juvenile males, according to the Center’s website. It has a capacity for 84 juveniles raging in age from 15 to 20.
The program combines concepts of military regimentation and leadership with a cognitive therapeutic approach to assist youths in decision making, behavior management and other initiatives to promote positive productive citizenship, the site says. The core aspects are role modeling, teamwork, communication, responsibility, accountability and high expectations.
Those juveniles sent to the center must have been adjudicated for a delinquent offence prior to the age of 18, never been adjudicated as an adult and does not have adult charges pending. Juveniles at the Center are also considered to be a low risk of escape, low risk of violence, sexual assault or arson, the site says.
