Prisoner Escapes
(asked on 16th November 2022) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 7 November to Question 74848, what the (a) conviction or (b) matter for which the prisoner was remanded into custody was for those prisoners at large.
Data is available for those who were still at large having escaped from custody as of 1st May of each year. Across the five years 55 offenders escaped from custody.
Escapes from custody includes where an offender flees during a court appearance, when being escorted from court to prison and in extremely rare circumstances, directly from prison.
The vast majority were 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.
Please see the below table for a breakdown of these figures by year and the offence type for both convicted prisoners and those remanded into custody.
| Financial Year | ||||
| 2017-184 | 2018-195 | 2019-206 | 2020-217 | 2021-228 |
Number of escapes | 13 | 9 | 16 | 5 | 12 |
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Of which, number still at large | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
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Number still at large by offence type3 of prisoner: |
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Theft Offences | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Public Order Offences | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Miscellaneous Crimes against Society | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Summary Non-Motoring | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Source: HMPPS Incident Reporting System |
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(1) A prisoner escapes when they are able to pass beyond the perimeter of a secure prison or the control of escorting staff. This may involve overcoming physical security restraints such as a wall or fence; locks, bolts or bars; a secure vehicle; handcuffs; or the direct supervision of escorting staff. |
(2) Includes escapes from establishments, HMPPS escorts and contractor escorts |
(3) Includes offence type for both conviction and for which the prisoner was remanded into custody if not yet sentenced |
(4) Still at large as at 1st May 2018 |
(5) Still at large as at 1st May 2019 |
(6) Still at large as at 1st May 2020 |
(7) Still at large as at 1st May 2021 |
(8) Still at large as at 1st May 2022 |