- Escapes and attempted escapes from custody are rare in Western Australia. From January 2008 to August 2014, there were only 70 such escapes despite an average daily prison population of around 5000 people. (Read more)
- Most escapes are opportunistic, involving little planning or prior consideration. (Read more)
- There have been very few escapes from maximum or medium security facilities. (Read more)
- Almost 60 per cent of people who escaped or attempted to escape did so while outside the secure confines of a custodial facility. These prisoners were at work camps, courts, authorised external activities or being transferred between prisons or for medical purposes.
- Younger offenders are considerably more likely to escape. (Read more)
- Good staff-prisoner interactions are vital in reducing the opportunities for escape.
- Most offenders were returned to custody either on the day itself or within a day of their escape. More than two thirds of people were returned in three days or less. (Read more)
- Despite some missed opportunities for formally reviewing incidents, the Department and its contractors have generally learnt from escapes and have implemented changes that have been largely successful in preventing similar escapes.
- Areas for further improvement include the Department improving its escape alert system and monitoring the impact of its changes to policy and procedure. Some policy changes, made to prevent escapes, may have unintended consequences and must be monitored more closely to measure their effects. (Read more)