This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/6236375.stm
The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Prison chief admission on missing | Prison chief admission on missing |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The director general of the Prison Service has admitted that he does not know exactly how many inmates are on the run from open jails. | The director general of the Prison Service has admitted that he does not know exactly how many inmates are on the run from open jails. |
| Phil Wheatley said there is no system to count the number of prisoners who have absconded from such jails. | Phil Wheatley said there is no system to count the number of prisoners who have absconded from such jails. |
| Classed as Category D, open prisons have a more relaxed security regime. | Classed as Category D, open prisons have a more relaxed security regime. |
| Almost 700 offenders absconded in the year to last April from England's 15 open prisons, Mr Wheatley estimated. | Almost 700 offenders absconded in the year to last April from England's 15 open prisons, Mr Wheatley estimated. |
| He said the Prison Service did not have an accurate system for those who had been recaptured. | |
| Mr Wheatley said he was "embarrassed" to admit he was unable to provide an accurate figure because there is no central database for recording numbers of recaptured prisoners. | Mr Wheatley said he was "embarrassed" to admit he was unable to provide an accurate figure because there is no central database for recording numbers of recaptured prisoners. |
| 'Majority arrested' | 'Majority arrested' |
| BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said absconding was a daily occurrence in open prisons - in the last financial year, 693 inmates went missing. | BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said absconding was a daily occurrence in open prisons - in the last financial year, 693 inmates went missing. |
| The prisons are often used to prepare low-risk inmates for release. | The prisons are often used to prepare low-risk inmates for release. |
| This week, the Home Office, replying to a Freedom of Information Act request, said 401 of the prisoners remained at large when figures were compiled last May. | This week, the Home Office, replying to a Freedom of Information Act request, said 401 of the prisoners remained at large when figures were compiled last May. |
| Mr Wheatley said there was no centralised system | Mr Wheatley said there was no centralised system |
| Mr Wheatley said then that the "vast majority" of inmates who abscond were "arrested promptly". | Mr Wheatley said then that the "vast majority" of inmates who abscond were "arrested promptly". |
| Although others are likely to have been caught since then, the failure to capture prisoners early will fuel concerns about whether open prisons are being used appropriately, our correspondent said. | Although others are likely to have been caught since then, the failure to capture prisoners early will fuel concerns about whether open prisons are being used appropriately, our correspondent said. |
| Seventy criminals, including three murderers, absconded from one open prison, Ford Open Prison, in West Sussex in 2006, the Home Office said. | Seventy criminals, including three murderers, absconded from one open prison, Ford Open Prison, in West Sussex in 2006, the Home Office said. |
| The Probation Officers' Union, Napo, said the Home Office's policy of transferring prisoners to open jails to ease overcrowding in jails needed to "urgently reviewed". | The Probation Officers' Union, Napo, said the Home Office's policy of transferring prisoners to open jails to ease overcrowding in jails needed to "urgently reviewed". |
| The issue of foreign prisoners being released rather than deported led to the sacking of Home Secretary Charles Clarke in 2006. | The issue of foreign prisoners being released rather than deported led to the sacking of Home Secretary Charles Clarke in 2006. |
| Mr Clarke was sacked after more than 1,013 foreign prisoners were released without being considered for deportation. | Mr Clarke was sacked after more than 1,013 foreign prisoners were released without being considered for deportation. |
| His replacement as home secretary, John Reid, told the home affairs committee last month that loophole had now been closed. | His replacement as home secretary, John Reid, told the home affairs committee last month that loophole had now been closed. |