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Approximately one-quarter (26.5%) had at least one prior conviction for escape. Most federal escapes were from non-secure custody (see figure below). The majority (89.0%) of individuals escaped from a Residential Reentry Center (i.e., a halfway house).
In 2019, 2,231 inmates escaped from state or federal prisons in the United States. This is a decrease from the previous year, when 2,351 prisoners escaped from facilities across the United...
Most federal escapes were from non-secure custody. The majority (89.0%) of individuals escaped from a Residential Reentry Center (i.e., a halfway house). The median length of time that individuals sentenced for escape offenses remained at large was one month.
Jul 4, 2024 · This statistic shows the number of federal prison escapees in Canada in fiscal years 2006 to 2022. In the fiscal year of 2022, 4 inmates escaped federal prisons in Canada.
- Overview
- Correctional facilities "severely understaffed"
After the recent high-profile escape of a convicted murderer from a Pennsylvania jail, some have raised concerns about the effectiveness of law enforcement and community safety. But what level of concern should the public genuinely have?
CBS News dug into data from 26 states, which showed over 1,100 documented instances of escapes from law enforcement custody over the past five years. However, experts said many of those incidents aren't the kinds of highly publicized escapes of violent criminals like the one that happened in Pennsylvania. In that case, 34-year-old Danelo Cavalcante was on the run in the Philadelphia suburbs for two weeks before being captured.
"Escapes are both more common and less common than you think," says Bryce Peterson, a senior research scientist at The Center for Justice Research and Innovation, specializing in correctional issues and safety.
"Escapes are happening every single day," Peterson explains. "You have people leaving from minimum security custody all the time, several times a day, from facilities across the country. But escapes like what we saw in Pennsylvania — these more sensational escapes — are extremely rare."
Peterson points to low staffing levels and wages within America's detention facilities as a primary cause for creating an environment ripe for escapes.
"I think if you ask any sort of correctional authority, they would always say, staffing is an issue. That being said, in the last couple of years, that issue has been exacerbated tenfold," says Peterson. "Correctional agencies right now are severely understaffed. They're having a hard time not only hiring staff but retaining them over the long term. I know that there are state correctional facilities out there where their main competitor for jobs is Walmart. And so if your pay is that little and your job is so unattractive to people, it's going to be very hard to find good quality staff who are willing to work the job and stay at the job."
Many escape incidents involve convicted people deemed "low-risk" and nonviolent. These individuals, known as "walk-aways" are usually convicted of minor offenses and are serving their sentences in minimum-security facilities or work-release centers.
For example, in CBS News' analysis, Montana had the highest number of reported escapes. But of the state's 381 documented incidents, all but three "escapes" were from unsecure facilities. The issue there is largely attributed to its pre-release system which transfers many parolees to halfway houses so they can find work while completing their sentence.
"I don't think this is something that on a daily basis people should be concerned about, even when escapes do occur. Unless you're in the vicinity where that escape is known to be," says Peterson.
While most documented incidents do not end violently, escapes can still have devastating outcomes. Peterson cited a violent incident in Texas last year when a convicted killer, Gonzalo Lopez, 46, escaped from a prison bus, and killed a family of five during his three-week period on the run. An internal review from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice found a multitude of security lapses, including a staffing shortage, which allowed Lopez to get away.
- CBS News
- 3 min
Sep 16, 2023 · This string of events has sparked questions about what went wrong and how easy it is to break out of U.S. prisons. The exact number of escapes is hard to quantify and likely undercounted since there is no central federal database.
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What percentage of escape convictions are sentenced under 2p1.1?
What is a federal escape offense?
Sep 27, 2023 · Escape offenses accounted for less than one percent (0.4%) of all federal offenses between fiscal years 2017 and 2021. Individuals sentenced for escape offenses had extensive and serious criminal histories. Most federal escapes were from non-secure custody.
