The Long Creek Youth Development Center has new leadership after a series of altercations between residents and staff.There have been five violent incidents in the past six weeks that caused $100,000 in property damage."Some of these individuals flipped a table over, grabbed a leg of a chair or a table, smashed windows out, smashed computer equipment,” Maine Department of Corrections Commissioner Randall Liberty said.Liberty said staff tried de-escalation tactics."At some point, there is a time when you have to go in and you have to try to restrain them, and we do that as a last resort,” Liberty said.WMTW News 8 was outside the facility during the third incident on Aug. 30. Several boys were seen on camera throwing objects at windows while confined within the security fence.Long Creek’s population shrank to a low of 21 during the pandemic but increased to 41 this month. Liberty said 80% of the youth are considered charged with serious crimes such as arson, robbery and sexual assault and are considered high risk."A small percentage of them have been very problematic, aggressive, and have been confrontational,” Liberty said.The Maine Department of Corrections has referred the incidents to prosecutors to determine whether any force might have been excessive.Liberty said the Maine Department of Corrections has also partnered with the Center for Children's Law and Policy to review Long Creek's practices and policies. CCLP is a national organization focused on reform of juvenile justice systems and the protection of the rights of children.The Department of Corrections also said it plans to modify housing units and add more behavioral health staff and retrain staff on the management of future incidents involving juveniles at the facility. Liberty said he has also named Amanda Woolford as acting Long Creek superintendent. She has served as director of women's services for the Maine Department of Corrections since 2012. Woolford replaces Caroline Raymond, who resigned last week.The American Civil Liberties Union wants Maine to commit to closing its youth prison. They cite similar commitments from New Hampshire, Vermont, Wisconsin and California.“Kids don’t belong in prison. We’ve seen time after time that kids’ needs are not meet at Long Creek,” ACLU of Maine Executive Director Alison Beyea said. "No kid is going to be solved, and none of the problems that they're facing are going to be solved, by locking them up in a prison."The Maine Legislature passed a bill in June to close Long Creek over the next two years, but Gov. Janet Mills vetoed it. She called it fundamentally flawed and a simplistic solution to a complex problem.“I’m also committed to the reduction of youth incarceration in Maine, but not at the risk of public safety,” Liberty said. “Given that we have less than 40 individuals now, those that are there need to be there, and if we didn’t have secure confinement in Maine, where would those individuals be?”