Prisoner Escapes

(asked on 22nd January 2024) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders were on an escape list on 1 January in each year since 2015.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 30th January 2024

The following shows the number of prisoners on an escape list on 01 January of each year 2015-2024.

Year *Number of Prisoners on Escape List Alert code (XEL, XELH **)

2015

563
2016296
2017252
2018291
2019195
2020167
2021101
2022113
2023105
2024160

*First of January only for each year

**Escape List, Escape List- Heightened

A prisoner escapes from prison if they unlawfully gain their liberty by breaching the secure perimeter of a closed prison. A prisoner escapes from an escort if they are able to pass beyond the control of escorting staff and leave the escort, the vehicle or the premises (such as a court or hospital).

The vast majority of escapes are recaptured by police either immediately or within a matter of hours and there are no cases of prison escapees remaining at large. Offenders who break the law will be punished – including extra time in jail when appropriate.

Prisoners who pose an escape risk are identified and their ongoing risk is managed by placing them on the Escape List (E-List). Prisoners placed on the E-List are subject to additional security measures, restricted activity and regular review.

Prison escapes are incredibly rare, and numbers have declined substantially in the last 10-15 years. Between 1997 and 2010, escapes from prisons were nearly 10 times higher than the subsequent 13 years.

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