severe behavioural problems, it was claimed.

Head of Police Community and Juvenile Services Insp. Gertrude Barker yesterday said Police spend countless hours picking up runaways from the facilities and taking them back.

"A facility is needed where certain children cannot just walk out,'' she said.

She said many of the children at the Government homes are placed there by the court for criminal or social offences and staff there are not allowed to restrain them.

"Some of them just need to be out in the streets. It's a way of life and anything that is regimented or which includes discipline, they resent.'' Insp. Barker said it was difficult to estimate how much of Police time is spent on locating runaways. But she said they try to limit time spent on such searches to patrols.

She said most of those who run away return on their own after two days.

But 15-year-old Kenneth Boyles, who has been missing from the Youth Development Centre since October 7, has not yet.

"There have been a number of sightings,'' Police spokeswoman Sgt. John Dale said, "but he remains elusive.'' The teenager is one of several youngsters who repeatedly runs away from Government care.

Police keep no statistics on the number of runaways reported, Sgt. Dale said.

But acting senior social worker in charge of Government's three homes for troubled adolescents, Mr. Warren Simmons, said only four out of a total of 18 at the Youth Development Centre, Observatory Cottage, and Brangman Home (for females) have run away this year.

And basically it has been the same ones on different occasions, he said.

There are three basic levels of discipline staff at the homes can apply; Those committing minor infractions, such as doing chores poorly, will usually have privileges like the watching of television or snacks taken away from them; Youngsters who get into more serious trouble are banned from interacting with most of their peers, or in extreme cases, will not be granted permission to leave the property and may have work duty with lots of one-on-one counselling until their behaviour improves; and Those with recurring negative behaviour, such as continuously running away or stealing, are placed under close observation by staff and evaluated.

Mr. Simmons said they are also warned that the next step will be expulsion.

If their behaviour still does not improve, he said, they could either be transferred to the senior training school or sent to a facility overseas to deal with their problems.

While admitting that there are certain children with disruptive behaviour at the homes, Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness said the success rate of the three facilities was high.

He stressed he is against locking up children. But he said professionals involved with youngsters at the residential care facilities are looking at new ways of handling those with severe behavioural problems.