Children & the Law Blog

The office of the Independent Ombudsman conducted an investigation at the Al Price Unit in Beaumont, TX after hearing recurring reports by youths at the facility. In that report, they found a pattern of youth extorting other youth’s food.  As youth are brought to TYC’s Al Price Unit many of them are faced with two options: to fight for their food or have it took from them and constantly be subjected to bullying. This is not the only facility where it happens but at the Al Price Unit it is a deeply established program.

At Al Price, this practice of taking food from weaker youths is known as “Deebo,” named after a character from the movie Friday.

 No longer is “Deebo” just a hated and feared fictional character in the movie Friday but now that character has become a reality figure at this facility.

Every Youth we spoke to believe that it is simply a fact of life at Al Price that you must “fight for what is yours.” Youth seem to accept that they have but two choices at Al Price; “fight for your food or go on Deebo.”

So what would you decide?

The youth who has other youths “on Bo” or “Deebo” is referred to as the “Bo Master.” Whenever the “Bo Master” wants something then the others have to give it to them or they risk the chance of getting ‘beat up’ by “Bo Master” or other youths in the facility.  If a youth decides that they do not want to be “on Deebo” then they have to fight or at least appear that they will fight back if someone tries to pick on them.  

Some youth who are capable of fighting for their food do not do so because it could result in an extension of their length of stay in TYC.  They might opt to give in rather than reporting the extortion to staff because if they do, they could be placed on protective custody. Youth on protective custody are stigmatized as being weak or worse, they are identified as “snitches” and therefore subject to retaliation.

To fight or not to fight that is the question.

These youths need some type of effective intervention. Do not think that this is a hidden practice from the administration. One youth mentioned that when he arrived at the dorm the staff member commented saying “Oh boy, they are gonna get his food.” People know what’s going on but it seems that they are either afraid to stop it or feel that they are helpless in stopping the problem.

 In the report, some youth did mention that some staff always tries to intervene but since “Deebo” is such a long established practice it does not stop the problem. One way that staffers have tried to rectify the problem is by separating the “Bo Master” from everyone else, but the problem is so entrenched that the youth just pass food underneath the table. In spite of their efforts, the staff members are still in a predicament.  

Who knew something as simple and such a necessity as food would be such a controlling factor in determining who is in charge at these facilities. In the end the question is who is in charge: the staff members or “Bo Master”?

To read more about food extortion at the Al Price Unit or the rest of the Ombudsman report go to: http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/ombudsman/rept_Third_Quarter08.html.