Eleven juveniles return after NOC escape

Eleven residents of the juvenile correctional centre at Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast, voluntarily returned after walking out of the facility on Sunday afternoon.

The police force, in a statement, said that at about 5.15 pm on Sunday, six female and five male residents escaped from the New Opportunity Corps (NOC).

Although police reported that they were all apprehended by yesterday morning, a police source told this newspaper that the residents returned voluntarily.

The source said that there has been an ongoing feud between the residents and members of the NOC’s administration and as a result the group walked out of the facility on Sunday to make a point.

Stabroek News was told that there was a disturbance among residents, which the 11-member group used as a distraction to free themselves. According to the source, the residents who fled are almost of age to leave the facility.

Last month, three residents escaped from the facility and carried out a robbery on Member of Parliament Haimraj Rajkumar. They were all recaptured within a few days and charges were instituted against them for the robbery.

In recent years, the NOC has been a centre of controversy and discontent for juveniles. In 2012, a female dormitory was set on fire and there was a mass escape.

The APNU+AFC government has taken several initiatives in relation to the NOC. Just recently, it was decided that the NOC will come under the Ministry of Social Protection and not the Ministry of Education.