ST. GABRIEL, LA (WAFB) -
The top cop in St. Gabriel
believes some students at a military youth program are behind some recent home
burglaries. The police chief believes the kids are just trying to run away, but
he is worried they will get hurt on the streets.
The Louisiana National
Guard Youth Challenge Program in Carville is home to kids, ages 15 to 18
looking to change their lives, but St. Gabriel Police Chief Kevin Ambeau said
lately the instructors are having a hard time keeping the teens on campus.
"We've gotten several complaints
from people in the community about them being in their yard, one runaway
sleeping in someone's shed, another sleeping on a bus at a local bus industry,
one of them hopping on the back of a train," Ambeau said.
Chief Ambeau said it
usually happens during the first two weeks of the program.
"Recently they got a new
academy and this one here is probably the worst since I've been chief. We had
16 at one time escape on last Friday," Ambeau said.
St Gabriel Police
Department records show officers responded to reports of 16 runaways on
November 3, 15 were returned within two hours. But the next day ten more took
off.
"It's tying up a lot of my
man power and a lot of time for a small department," Ambeau said.
In the last three weeks,
officers responded to 38 calls, involving 66 runaways from the Youth Challenge
Program.
"They're not giving us an
explanation of how they're getting out," Ambeau said.
Louisiana National Guard
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Kazmierzak said the kids are under strict supervision,
but admits it's not uncommon for them to sneak out.
"The kids find ways when
the instructor is not looking or at night when they are supposed to be bedded
down. It happens. But that's why we have procedures and protocol to track down
the kids make sure they are safe and get them back on track," Kazmierzak said.
Because instructors are
not allowed to touch their students, Kazmierzak said, they call the local
police department, as well as the child's parents.
Still, Chief Ambeau thinks
the guard needs to do a better job of keeping tabs on their students.
"They're the caretakers.
They're responsible for those kids, not the St. Gabriel Police Department,"
Ambeau said.
The chief said he plans to set up a meeting
with the Iberville Parish Sheriff and the campus supervisor to see if they can
come up with a solution to the problem.
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Louisiana National Guard Youth Challenge Program in Carville
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