Prison Says Security OK Despite 6 Escapes : Corrections: None of the inmates have been caught. The California Youth Authority is installing a new system.

Although six inmates have escaped this year from the California Youth Authority at Camarillo, an official said Wednesday that the institution’s security is adequate.

“I think we have a very reasonable security system,” said spokeswoman Allison Zajac. “We do everything we can to make sure we don’t have escapes. Unfortunately, they happen.”

None of the six escapees have been apprehended, she said.

Two of the six inmates walked away while working on outside projects.

On Tuesday, Ernest Ricks, 21, convicted of attempted murder in 1985, walked away while cutting brush with a California Department of Forestry crew near Pacific Coast Highway and Las Posas Road.

The inmates working on the project were under the supervision of a fire captain, not a prison guard, Zajac said.

“This is a very wooded area,” she said, adding that the trees and brush probably helped in the prisoner’s escape.

About five weeks ago, a female inmate also walked away while working on a project outside the prison, Zajac said.

And last May, four felons--including two murderers--cut a hole through the facility’s chain-link fence and escaped.

Since then, Zajac said, half of a new $400,000 security system has been installed. The system uses sound sensors on the prison’s perimeter fences.

The other half of the system, including the mounting of video cameras on the fences, is scheduled to be in place by January, she said.

The institution averages about five escapes annually, Zajac said.

The 105-acre facility, which holds about 820 inmates, was established in 1962.

Last year, the inmates, who range from 14 to 25 years old, performed about 40,000 hours of public service, such as working on fire prevention projects, Zajac said.

In addition to the installation of a new security system, Zajac said prison officials have been re-evaluating security. But every so often, she said, an inmate will break out.

“It’s hard to predict what strategy a ward will come up with to escape,” she said. “We take as many precautions as possible.”