HL Deb 23 January 1991 vol 525 cc6-7WA
Lord Graham of Edmonton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many prison escapes and absconds there were in each of the last 10 years.

Lord Reay

The readily available information is shown in the following table:

Period (1) Escapes (2) Absconds
1981 201 1,364
1982 179 1,299
1983 166 1,158
1984–85 211 1,163
1985–86 202 1,092
1986–87 192 980
1987–88 177 1,192
1988–89 201 1,155
1989–90 161 1,155
1990–911 179 1,264
1 Up to 9th January 1991.

Notes:

(i) The information shown has largely been derived from published annual reports on the work of the Prison Department, the most convenient source.

(ii) The figures for 1981 to 1983 relate to the calendar year; the figure for 1984–85 covers the 15-month period from 1st January 1984 to 31st March 1985. Subsequent figures relate to the financial year, until the final period which covers from 1st April 1990 to 9th January 1991.

(iii) All figures relate to numbers of inmates.

(iv) Column (1) shows numbers of escapes from within closed

Offences of assaulting a prison officer proved at adjudicate in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales: by offence and year of adjudication 1975 and 1985–89
Number of offences
1975 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Gross personal violence 9 17 12 10 11 131
Attempt to commit gross personal violence 2 125 37 17 37 9
Assault 544 1,216 1,221 1,149 1,143 1,488
Attempted assault 68 117 117 151 167 218
1 Not separately classified from 1 April 1989.
2 Not separately classified.