'Dangerous' young Sask. offender located, charged
The youth was located and returned to police custody on July 28
A "dangerous" young offender is back in custody and facing new charges after he escaped lawful custody on July 21.
The youth was attending a family funeral on the Red Pheasant First Nation south of North Battleford, Sask., when he escaped.
At about 1:15 a.m. CST on July 28, he was located and arrested by Battlefords RCMP.
The teen has been charged with one count of resisting arrest resulting from the arrest. He will also be charged with escaping lawful custody.
Officials said that shortly after noon on July 21, the offender escaped lawful custody from corrections staff while on escorted leave. He was in custody at the North Battleford Youth Centre.
He was under the supervision of two youth corrections officers at the time of his escape.
The youth was able to leave the site of the funeral and flee into the community.
They said the local detachment of the RCMP was immediately alerted.
After the escape, a youth court judge in North Battleford determined that he posed a "significant public safety risk" and allowed for the release of identifying information on the young offender.
A previous version of this story included the youth's name and photograph but it was removed after the youth was returned to custody, removing the risk to public safety.
'Violent dangerous offender'
While the youth was still at large, he was described as a "violent dangerous offender" who should not be approached.
Policy dictates that a dangerous offender should be shackled while on escorted leave. The shackles would include a belt going around the waist with a chain going down to the feet, and the feet locked and the hands cuffed to the belt as well.
Police were investigating whether or not that policy was followed while he attended the family funeral.
The youth had been under secure custody in North Battleford. Drew Wilby, executive director of the Ministry of Justice, said youth in the facility are essentially locked in and cannot come and go as in an open-custody situation.
Wilby said there are circumstances where a youth in secure custody may be allowed an escorted leave to attend what he described as a "significant" family event.
Investigations end
Two investigations were undertaken in response to the escape.
Firstly, the RCMP conducted their investigation to track down the youth and bring him back into their custody.
Secondly, the ministry said it would have an internal investigation to determine if policies were followed.
"The investigation will bear that out to determine exactly how he was able to flee the custody of the two young offenders workers that were there to escort him," said Wilby.
The investigation also aimed to determine if the youth had any help escaping.
"Our young offender workers that were with him would have full training in dealing with the individuals, both within a facility and when they're on escorts into the community," said Wilby.