THE CANADIAN PRESS
EDMONTON - Details are emerging about chronic runaway problems at a group home where two 14-year-old boys were sent briefly before they fled to a nearby rural property and, police say they committed a random double murder.
A consultant's report done for the province in October 2007 found that 245 troubled teens walked away from the home in a rural area east of Edmonton over a five-year period, starting in 2001.
That was the worst record of any group home of its type in Alberta, says Trevor Coloumbe, a spokesman for the children's services ministry.
The report, which has never been made public, offered recommendations on how to reduce the number of runaways and improve relations between the group home and the surrounding community, Coloumbe said Friday.
"I know that action was taken on some of the recommendations. In fact, there was a change that was made where (the home) was required to report within 15 minutes when a child is absent without permission and that policy is adhered to quite strictly."
There were also changes made to staff training.
"(It) did embark on a training program for all existing and new-hire staff that was focused on relationship building and controlling behaviours," Coloumbe said.
"However, obviously the community still has concerns that action hasn't been taken or more needs to be done."
The two teens had been put in the group home last Saturday after they were charged with mischief relating to vandalism at a school. They fled the following day and were later arrested in a stolen pickup truck.
Police found a murder scene on Monday when they arrived at a rural property where the truck had been stolen. A 68-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman were found death. They had been shot to death, according to reports.
One of the teens has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, while the other is charged with being an accessory after the fact.
Children's Services Minister Janice Tarchuk was not available for comment Friday. But New Democrat Rachel Notley called for the immediate release of the consultant's report into what she described as a security crisis at the group home.
"Janice Tarchuk knew about security issues at this home years ago," Notley said Thursday. "She hired a consultant to investigate, buried the report, and now two people have lost their lives.
"The public has a right to know why the minister withheld this report from the residents of Strathcona County."
Coloumbe confirmed in an email to The Canadian Press on Friday that the report will be made public, but not right away.
"It would happen after the working group has had an opportunity to review the recommendations and discuss action taken to date," he said. "So the community has both pieces of information."
The executive director of the company that runs the home stressed earlier this week that children are not incarcerated there. He also said police were called as soon as someone realized the two were missing.
Even Premier Ed Stelmach has emphasized that the facility is not a prison.
"It's a home," he said Thursday. "The home takes care of children who have obviously had some issues in their life and they're with the government because they don't have families and we have to take care of them."
