Inmate Escapes
Fiscal Year
Report

This report provides information for the Fiscal Year (July - June) of 2002-2003 in reference to attempted escapes, escapes and recaptures from Florida’s correctional facilities. This report summarizes the following:

• Attempted escapes
• Escapes by level, facility type, and facility type by region
• Recaptures and recaptures within quarter, by time to recapture, and time to recapture by facility type
• Escape rates by region, and facility type by region
• Escapes by facility, facility type, and facility type by region
• Escapes by facility type, by month
• Escape rates by region by quarter
• Escapes FY 1989-1990 to FY 2002-2003
• Escape rates per 1,000 inmates for all facilities and for correctional institutions FY 1989-1990 to FY 2002-2003

For purposes of this report attempted escape and escape are defined as follows:

• Attempted escape: Inmate is apprehended before completion of the escape act.
• Escape: Unauthorized absence from the designated facility boundary or absence from any official assignment outside this boundary.

An escape will be further defined as one of the following levels:

• Level I: Escape from non-secure environment such as a community correctional center or an outside work squad, in which no Level III behaviors are exhibited.
• Level II: Escape from a secure perimeter in which no Level III behaviors are exhibited.
• Level III: Escape that involves hostages, weapons/tools, outside assistance, or violence during or after the escape.

A perimeter escape is defined as an escape initiated from inside the perimeter of a correctional facility other than a community release facility.

Summary

The number of escapes increased from FY 2001-2002 (63) to 75 for FY 2002-2003. The majority of these escapes were from work release/contract centers (93.3%) and were Level 1 escapes (98.7%), the least serious type. There was only 1 escape from a correctional institution and this was a walk-a-way from a work squad. There have been no escapes that breached the secure perimeter of a correctional facility in the past 3 fiscal years.

The overall escape rate rose slightly from 0.87 in FY 2001-2002 to 1.0 for FY 2002-2003. The escape rate for correctional institutions declined from 0.03 in FY 2001-2002 to 0.02 in FY 2002-2003.

Of the 75 completed escapes, 67 (89.3%) were recaptured to date of this report. Over 90% of these were recaptured within the quarter in which the escape occurred and more than half of these (59.0%) were recaptured within 24 hours of the escape.

There were 16 attempted and foiled escapes from Florida's correctional facilities. 14 (87.5%) of these were from correctional institutions.

Links to charts:

• Types of Escapes and Recaptures:
  • Escapes
  • Recaptures
• Escapes by Region/Facility
  • Region I
  • Region II
  • Region III
  • Region IV
• Inmate Escape Rates
• Inmate Escape Rates Per 1,000 Inmates
  • (All Facilities)
  • (Correctional Institutions)

Links to graphs:

• Escapes by Facility Type, by Month
• Escape Rate by Region, by Quarter
• Total Escapes