Escapees Expose Weakness of S.F. Juvenile Hall

A juvenile hall from which 11 teen-agers escaped was never meant to hold hard-core offenders and may never be adequate for that type of prisoner, its chief probation officer said.

The 11, including six youths awaiting hearings on murder or attempted murder charges, let themselves out of their cells Friday night after obtaining a set of keys.

Five had turned themselves in or been captured by Sunday, but six remained at large and were considered dangerous, said police Inspector Antonio Casillas.

Police and officials at the Youth Guidance Center are investigating the escape.

The 142-bed center is run-down and was never meant to hold such prisoners, Chief Probation Officer Fred E. Jordan Jr. said Sunday.

“It’s a terrible place to keep people,” he said. “This facility was built for runaways. It wasn’t built for this.”

Locks have been changed since the escape, Jordan said, and he added that he would recommend that keys be kept in locked boxes.