An audit of security at the youth prison in Kailua found that the prison failed by a long shot to meet national juvenile correctional security standards, with inspectors discovering shortcomings as basic as failure to have written, agreed-upon procedures for counting the youths in custody there.

Most of the staff in the youth prison's control center could not describe the facility's emergency response procedures, and the prison had no records showing the staff was trained in those procedures, the report said.

In fact, the facility had no written training program requirements, including training for use of force, according to the report. The audit also found the facility lacks current written procedures for other basic tasks such as accounting for keys or searching wards after visits or other contact with the public.

The report concluded that "the absence of an established security program has permitted a culture to develop where staff is forced to make up their own practices due to a lack of direction and guidance from administration."

The audit, conducted by security staff from the state Department of Public Safety, was ordered last year by state lawmakers who were concerned about a series of escapes at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility.

The youth prison had eight escapes in 2005 involving six boys or young men, and two girls. Most of those escapes stemmed from a single incident in which five wards fled from the facility in July 2005.

The report, released to state lawmakers last week, found that the youth prison failed to meet most of the standards for juvenile facilities developed by the American Correctional Association.

The facility "lacks a clearly defined security program due to the absence of established policies and procedures," a problem that puts the youth wards, the staff and the public at risk, according to the report.

The report also cited severe and chronic short-staffing at the youth prison that at times forced maintenance staff at the facility to operate critical security posts instead of corrections officers.

One of the authors of the audit also recommends building a new 8-foot-high fence around the section of the prison that holds the highest-risk offenders.

The inspections of the prison by experts from the state's adult prison system were completed by last September, and lawmakers instructed Gov. Linda Lingle's administration to submit the report by Oct. 2. However, the results of the inspections were not submitted to lawmakers until last week.

In her transmittal letter with the report, Lingle remarked that although the youth prison failed to meet national standards, there were some "positive findings" by the inspectors.

POSITIVE FINDINGS

Lingle noted that the inspectors concluded a number of the youth correctional officers "have developed good correctional practices without the benefit of facility procedures."

According to Lingle, "it is also noteworthy that the team did not observe or hear reports from staff nor did any ward report any incidents of physical abuse during the team's stay" at the youth prison.

Lingle said the Office of Youth Services advised her that "most of the issues raised by this audit are currently being addressed, including the creation of new policies and procedures to guide the operations of the facility. ..."

The report comes after years of civil-rights complaints, federal investigations and critical audits citing problems at the youth facility.

The state reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in February 2006 to address major problems at the youth prison that were identified in a federal inspection in October 2004. The Department of Justice gave the state three years to correct the problems.

State Sen. Jill Tokuda, D-24th (Kailua, Kane'ohe), said residents in neighborhoods around the prison do worry about security there, and she is "very concerned" about the problems cited in the audit.

Tokuda said she wants the stakeholders in the youth prison "to sit down and have a very open and frank discussion about what we're going to do to improve the condition of the facility for the short and the long term."

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.