§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been, in respect of penal establishments, (a) the total number of attempted escapes, (b) the total number of successful escapes and the security category of each prisoner escaping, and (c) the number of occasions during the period where the censorship of prisoners' correspondence has been directly responsible for the prevention of the escape of a prisoner.
§ Mr. MayhewThe available information for 1980 is that there were 125 recorded attempts to escape from closed establishments for male adults or young prisoners; 128 from closed establishments for male young offenders; and 9 from closed establishments for females. Attempted escapes from open establishments are not recorded centrally. There were 74 actual escapes by prisoners from closed establishments for male adults or young prisoners, and 385 from open establishments. Three of the prisoners who escaped were in security category A, 8 in category B, 60 in category C and 388 in category D. There were 105 escapes from closed establishments for male young offenders and 1,095 from open borstals and detention centres. Male young offenders are not placed in the security categories A to D. There were 88 escapes from establishments for females, all from open conditions. Female offenders are not given a security category unless they present an exceptionally high risk, when they may be placed in category A. No such prisoner escaped in 1980.
Information about the numbers of escapes in previous years is given in the annual reports of the work of the prison department.
416WThere is no central record of the number of occasions on which the censorship of prisoners' correspondence may be directly responsible for the prevention of the escape of a prisoner.