Boys broke out of Maine’s youth prison during recent period of unrest

A group of boys broke out of Maine’s youth prison in late January, according to police records obtained by the Bangor Daily News that shed light on the unrest that led staff to plead for help from state officials.

Around 10:40 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 28, staff at Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland called local police to request a perimeter around the prison’s campus, according to dispatch records obtained under a public records request. Staff called again twice to let officers know that nine boys were attempting to break out of an office, and that the group had entered the prison’s fenced yard with a broken guitar, a table-top vice and a fire extinguisher, according to transcripts of the calls.

Police waited outside in case any boys escaped Long Creek’s fenced-in grounds, which they didn’t, said Chief Daniel Ahern. He confirmed that officers witnessed boys outside of the building within its secure perimeter. Officers left around 1:30 a.m.

The full details of what happened that night are not entirely clear. The Maine Department of Corrections said it could not answer any questions about the incident due to provisions in state law that make prison operations confidential. The two unions representing Long Creek workers declined to comment or did not have more details to share. Staff who called dispatch only referred to an “ongoing issue” at the facility when they called for police assistance.

The calls to dispatch, however, provide more of a glimpse into reportedly tumultuous conditions at Long Creek that have caused staff and advocates to raise alarms in recent months.

The episode happened just days before the union representing teachers, maintenance and supervisory staff sent a letter to state officials describing their “serious safety concerns” about Long Creek, made public last month in a Portland Press Herald article after the union failed to receive a reply. The letter described how understaffing and diminished programs for incarcerated youth had deteriorated conditions at the facility for years, and, in recent months, had caused an uptick in lockdowns and riots, among other safety issues. It included 13 recommendations to improve the situation, stating that leaders had not meaningfully responded to problems when staff had raised concerns about them in the past.

The BDN and The New York Times previously reported that at least three major incidents had roiled the facility since November, including one in which a group of boys with broomsticks got into an unauthorized part of the prison after stealing a staff member’s key card.

This winter is not the first time that unrest at the prison has been attributed to bored kids and overworked staff. An outside investigation reached that conclusion in 2021 after looking into a series of violent clashes between residents and staff. A 2017 audit found that low staffing and the serious mental health needs of resident youth resulted in dangerous and harmful conditions, problems that the prison had not been able to overcome despite its “highly motivated leaders.”

State corrections officials have since assured Long Creek employees that they plan to improve the situation. Randall Liberty, the commissioner of the corrections department since 2019, visited the prison on April 3 for a facility-wide meeting, followed by an hour-long gathering with members of the Maine Service Employees Association SEIU Local 1989, the union that raised concerns in the letter.

“We had a productive conversation in which the workers were able to voice their concerns freely, and management was listening,” said Mark Brunton, the union’s president, who added that the meeting lasted about an hour. The commissioner tried “to project that he takes this seriously and he is going to institute reform.”

During the meeting, staff mostly lamented that they had watched programs at Long Creek disappear over the years, making it harder for them to support a population of youth that overwhelmingly struggles with complex mental health, educational and trauma histories. One teacher recalled how youth were once so busy that it was hard to find spare time in their schedules, but that is no longer the case, Brunton said.

The commissioner let the union members know that he was not happy they went to the press with their concerns, and that negative press did not help the state’s efforts to recruit and retain workers, Brunton said. Liberty said he wants to see the unions join him at the Maine Legislature in advocating for Long Creek, according to Brunton, which lawmakers and advocates have repeatedly tried to close due to chronic problems and at the recommendation of state consultants.

The commissioner did not specifically address the recommended changes the union presented in its letter, which centered on boosting staffing levels, and improving schedules and communication. But the meeting ended with everyone agreeing that staff and leadership should work together to improve the facility’s conditions.

“I believe the Commissioner is committed to changes at Long Creek to achieve these goals,” Brunton said in an email. State officials also want input from the rank and file as they search for a new superintendent, he added, following an announcement last month that Lynne Allen had stepped down from the post for undisclosed personal reasons after two years on the job.

Samuel Prawer, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said in a statement that “the Department will continue to work closely with union leadership and Long Creek staff in the coming months to ensure that every effort within our power is made to address concerns related to staffing, security, and programming.”

“We applaud the willingness of MSEA-SEIU leadership to engage in this collaboration and are optimistic that it will help us achieve our shared goal of making Long Creek the gold standard in juvenile correctional facilities once again,” he said.

Bangor Daily News reporter Callie Ferguson may be reached at cferguson@bangordailynews.com.