Escapes from new south wales gaols: placing the risk in perspective

Abstract

This article seeks to place the risk posed by escapees in perspective by presenting information on escapees from NSW gaols, based on a detailed record study of the 812 prisoners who escaped during the 6 year period, July 1983 to June 1989. Escapes from NSW gaols are a relatively rare occurrence. The majority of escapes (68.4%) occurred from within minimum security institutions. A further 12.3% of escapes refer to prisoners who fall to return on time from an unescorted temporary absence from the gaol, such as day/weekend leave, attendance at technical college or university, etc. Escapees tended to be younger, more likely to be serving sentences for property offences, more likely to be held in minimum security, more likely to have lower security classifications and less likely to be held on remand than prisoners in general. There is no particular point in their sentence when escapees are more likely to escape. While there are variations in patterns of escape or characteristics of escapees from year to year, there are no clear trends over time. The characteristics of escapees determined in this study suggest that reasons exist for escaping other than the presentation of the opportunity. More than one-quarter (28.6%) of the escapees were recaptured on either the day they escaped or the following day. Half (50%) of the escapees were recaptured within 8 days of their escape. The majority of escapees (74.2%) were not convicted of committing any offences whilst at large. Of those who were convicted, offences committed whilst at large are most commonly property offences (74.9%) such as break, enter and steal or larceny of a motor vehicle