Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

Reports of an alleged carjacking by a Swanson escapee have once put the community on high alert, as a rash of escapes continue to plague the beleaguered youth center. The alleged carjacking occurred in downtown Monroe on Grammont St., according to law enforcement. Reports say that a male who had escaped from the Swanson Center for Youth approached a person who was sitting in their vehicle parked in front of the P&S Surgery Center and assaulted the victim. After the attack, the escapee allegedly took the vehicle and fled. Later in the day, the suspect and the vehicle were located. The unidentified juvenile suspect was charged with carjacking and placed in the Green Oaks Detention Center. This was yet another encounter by a Swanson escapee with the public that has the community asking local and state officials for answers.

LA State Senator Katrina Jackson said that she "has had enough" and that it is time to start prosecuting juveniles as adults when they commit crimes while in custody or on the run. Jackson said that it was the carjacking incident that spurred her to file an amendment to House Bill 583, that would treat juveniles as adults, hoping that some, if not all, "would have second thoughts" before they attack people. She also said that she hopes that the amendment will act as a deterrent against the rising level of escapes and attacks committed by juveniles if it becomes law. Present law stipulates that juveniles who are serving juvenile life can't have any more time added to their sentence unless they are tried as adults.

Although well-meaning, it will take more than an amendment to change the mindset of juveniles housed at Swanson and other youth correctional centers around Louisiana. Swanson still has to contend with its problems of violence and frequent escapes that occur at the center. Local officials have not given any possible solutions regarding their plans to stem the violence against the center's employees or emphasize preventing more escapes. There have been numerous escapes in the last two years, but thankfully all of those who escaped have been captured, with no reported loss of life suffered by a civilian. A new building project is slated to begin at Swanson with modern housing and new initiatives to be implemented at the center, in hopes of changing not only the attitudes of those juveniles who stay at Swanson but also saving lives.

Photo LA State Senator Katrina Jackson