HC Deb 14 October 1968 vol 770 cc29-30W
Mr. Whitaker

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been the numbers of recaptured and unrecaptured escapers from prison since the implementation of the Mountbatten Report compared with previous years.

Mr. Elystan Morgan

Escapes from closed and open prisons in England and Wales in the three years ended on 31st December, 1966, were:

Year Escapes from closed prisons Escapes from open prisons
1964 93 313
1965 79 325
1966 85 291
The numbers since then:
Year Escapes from closed prisons Escapes from open prisons
1967 23 218
1968 to 30th September 11 153

At the end of 1966, 17 of the prisoners who had escaped from closed prisons were unlawfully at large, of whom 10 have now been recaptured. The equivalent figures for open prisons are 33 and 18. On 30th September, 1968, six prisoners who had escaped from closed prisons and 16 who had escaped from open prisons since 1st January, 1967, were still at large.