Inmate Escapes
Fiscal Year Report
June 1999

• Short Term Trends in Inmate Escapes (July 1998 to June 1999)
• Escapes by Type, Security Breached, and Region
• Recaptures and Time to Recapture
• Escapes by Facility
• Long Term Trends in Inmate Escapes (FY 1988-89 to FY 1998-99)

Prepared By:
Florida Department of Corrections
Bureau of Research and Data Analysis
October 1, 1999
Michael W. Moore, Secretary

Direct questions to:
Maria Toscano or Bill Bales
(850) 488-1801 or SC 278-1801
2601 Blair Stone Road
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2500

This report documents short and long term trends in inmate escapes from Florida's correctional facilities. It also documents:

• Escapes by type of facility
• Level of security breached
• Recaptures and length of time to recapture
• Escapes by facility type/region
• Escapes by individual correctional facilities
• Escape rates per 1,000 inmates

Please note recapture data is continuously updated for past escapes and facilities may change types across the fiscal years ( i.e., Ft. Myers CCC is now Ft. Myers Work Camp) thus affecting the category totals from previous reports.

Summary of Short Term Trends:

Click image for additional graphs on short-term trends.

• There were 160 escapes in Fiscal Year 1998-99. Of these, 4 (2.5%) were from correctional institutions; 7 (4.4%) were from work camps/road prisons; and 149 (93.1%) were from community correctional centers/contract centers.
• Of the 160 escapes, 137 (85.6%) have been recaptured. Of these 137 that were recaptured, 77 (48.1%) were recaptured within 24 hours of the escape.
• Of the 160 escapes in Fiscal Year 1998-99, 10 (6.2%) were unarmed supervision escapes and 150 (93.8%) community supervision escapes. There were no perimeter escapes.
• There have been no armed supervision escapes in the last fiscal year.

Summary of Long Term Trends:

Click image for additional graphs on long-term trends.

• Escapes have declined over the last five fiscal years (FY 1994-95, 308; FY 1995-96, 276; FY 1996-97, 191; FY 1997-98, 163 and FY 1998-99, 160).
• There have been no escapes from armed supervision in the last four fiscal years.
• The overall escape rate per 1,000 inmates has declined over the last five fiscal years (FY 1994-95, 5.22; FY 1995-96, 4.37; FY 1996-97, 2.97; FY 1997-98, 2.50 and FY 1998-99, 2.38).
• Escapes have dramatically declined from 10 years ago (FY 1988-89, 1,540 to FY 1998-99, 160).

Community Supervision:

Escape from or while assigned to community correctional centers or contract centers.

Unarmed Supervision:

Escape from a non-secure facility or while assigned to work squads or as transients in which armed supervision is not used.

Armed Supervision:

Escape from or while assigned to work squads or as transients in which armed supervision is necessary.

Perimeter:

Escape initiated from inside the perimeter of a correctional facility other than a community release facility.

• Short-term trends:
  • Escapes by Type
  • Security Breached
• Types of Escapes and Recaptures
• *Inmate Escapes by Region and Institution
  • Region I
  • Region II
  • Region III
  • Region IV
  • Region V
• Long-term trends:
  • Inmate Escape Rates Per 1,000 Inmates (All Facilities)
  • Inmate Escape Rates Per 1,000 Inmates (Correctional Institutions)
  • Long Term Trends in Inmate Escapes (Graphs)