Tennessee operates three youth detention centers across the state like Woodland Hills. The teens have generally committed three or more felonies. Credit: DCS
UPDATED, Sept. 29.:
The Department of Children Services is investigating what led to 13 teens to break out of the Woodland Hills detention facility on Friday night. Authorities recaptured all 13 kids by Sunday. The incident marks the second major security breach at the site this month.
Around 11 p.m. on Friday, the teens overpowering a guard then took his radio and keys before letting themselves out of a dorm. From there, according to DCS, one of the smaller kids wiggled through a gap between the entrance gate and the perimeter fence. He then let the other 12 kids out.
Authorities have taken all 13 kids to juvenile court holding cells. They now face additional charges, but some of them may end up back at Woodland Hills. Some others may be charged as adults.
Two nights after the Sept. 1 escape, mini-riots threw the facility into dissaray.
Many of the kids who took part in Friday night’s episode were also involved in the previous violent incidents.
DCS was in the midst of security upgrades when the second breakout occurred. The improvements include securing the fence that surrounds the site and reinforcing windows in all the dorms. They also hired around two dozen more staffers, filling positions that were left open for months.
The student to staff ratio on Friday was 5-to-1, about double typical staffing levels, according to DCS Spokesman Rob Johnson.
“They’re a very difficult population to work with,” Johnson said. “I don’t know what prompted it,” he said, referring to Friday night’s disturbance.
The agency has even changed its policy to allow guards to lock teens in their individual bunk rooms, although that policy has not yet been implemented. As a result, guards can’t do a whole lot to challenge rowdy teens. DCS had to call in a Department of Correction strike force to subdue detainees with non-lethal force earlier this month.
Two other teens have never been found since the Sept. 1 breakout.
WPLN’s Blake Farmer contributed reporting
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