§ Mr. Greenwayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have escaped from prisons in England and Wales in each of the last three 217W years; what percentage of those escapes have taken place from workshops; what percentage from education classes; and what are the most frequent prison activities or circumstances from which prisoners make their escapes.
§ Mr. MayhewDetails of the numbers of inmates who have escaped or absconded* from prison department establishments in England and Wales in 1979, 1980 and 1981 are given below:
1979 1980 1981 Male Adult and Young Prisoners (i) Escapes from within prisons and remand centres 106 74 81 (ii) Absconds* from within prisons and remand centres 328 385 380 (iii) Escapes and absconds* from escorts and supervised working parties 82 69 134 Male Young Offenders (i) Escapes from borstals and detention centres 118 103 119 (ii) Absconds* from borstals and detention centres 869 1,109 918 (iii) Escapes and absconds* from escorts and supervised working parties 74 41 82 Women and Girls (i) Escapes from within establishments — — 1 (ii) Absconds* from within establishments 140 141 66 (iii) Escapes and absconds* from escorts and supervised working parties 15 5 4 When escapes and absconds* occur from within establishments, the activities from which inmates made their escape or abscond* are not collated centrally. The other information requested could not therefore be provided except at disproportionate cost.
* An inmate absconds if he unlawfully gains his liberty by an abuse of trust without having had to overcome any physical security restraint, such as a wall, and if he is not at the time in the presence of a prison officer or officers specifically assigned to guard him. Most unlawful departures from open establishments are therefore classified as absconds.