By Leighton Keith of
The bail escapees were among the hundreds who fled the custody of police or the Department of Corrections in the past five years. (file picture) Photo: 123RF
A bunch of detainees waiting to face criminal charges in court have elected to spend their summer having fun in the sun and their Christmas on the run.
As the holiday season gets underway, about 100 people on electronically monitored bail (EM bail), including four from 2021 and 96 in 2022, remain at large after fleeing from the address where they were detained.
The escapees were among the hundreds who fled the custody of police or the Department of Corrections in the past five years, according to details released under the Official Information Act.
EM bail is jointly managed under a shared service model between Corrections and police and requires a person to remain at an approved address at all times and be subject to GPS monitoring 24 hours a day.
Since 2018, when a total of 411 people on EM bail absconded (an average of 34 per month), the numbers have continued to rise.
In 2019, 632 people bolted or 53 a month, up to 710 the following year (59 per month), then 761 last year (63 a month), and until 22 November this year, 687 thumbed their noses at the court-ordered detainment, an average of 62 a month.
On 28 November this year, there were 2088 people on EM bail across New Zealand.
While Corrections could not provide details for how long, on average, each escapee was on the loose, the information showed December was the most popular month to take off with 41 people leaving in 2018, 70 in 2019, 90 in 2020 and 99 in 2021.
Corrections was also unable to provide details of the number of convicted criminals who bolted while serving sentences of home detention.
The number of people attempting to escape police annually also numbered in the hundreds and continued to rise from 262 in 2017/18 to 363 in 2018/19, before jumping to 527 in 2019/20 and 522 the following year, up again to 632 in 2021/22.
There has been only one breakout from a prison in the past five years, and that was at Rimutaka Prison. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
While those escapees numbered in the hundreds, the number of prisoners fleeing over the jail walls or riding to freedom in a laundry truck remained low.
The majority of escapes took place while prisoners were being escorted outside the wire with only one breakout - from Rimutaka Prison - in the past five years.
A man stole a guard's uniform and pretended to be chasing an escaped criminal to flee the Upper Hutt jail in February this year.
In 2019/20, a 21-year-old Rimutaka inmate did a runner while being escorted outside of the facility and remained on the run for 78 days before being rounded up.
Corrections acting national commissioner Leigh Marsh said public safety was top priority and no escape was acceptable.
"Any time a prisoner is required to be escorted outside of a prison, our focus is on safety, security and minimising risk to the public, our staff and prisoners," Marsh said.
Each year, Corrections carried out tens of thousands of escorts between prisons, courts, medical facilities and rehabilitation providers.
While most occurred without incident, the majority of escapes happened during an escort, notably a medical escort.
Each year, Corrections carried out tens of thousands of escorts between prisons, courts, medical facilities and rehabilitation providers. (file picture) Photo:
In 2018, a prisoner from the Mt Eden Corrections Facility swapped documents with another prisoner, who was being released on bail and impersonated them so they were released instead.
Police quickly apprehended the culprit and they were back in custody within two days.
A further three prisoners attempted to escape custody while attending court in 2020 - including one who jumped out of the dock - but all were immediately rounded up and taken back into custody.
Marsh said Corrections reviewed every escape to understand the event and identify what improvements could be made to prevent similar incidents happening again.
"This may result in changes to policy, process, additional training for staff, or changes to fixed fittings in a building or vehicle.
"Over recent years we have made improvements to our systems, processes and staff training to ensure the security of our prisons and escorts."
Marsh said when an ankle bracelet was damaged, tampered with, or the person left their address without approval, an alert was generated.
Corrections had a team available 24/7 to respond to non-compliance with electronic monitoring.
Responses differed depending on the seriousness of the case and could include contacting them or their whānau by phone, sending a field officer to check on the person or contacting police.
"Corrections carries out the monitoring of defendants on EM bail, while the police are responsible for taking action regarding any instances of non-compliance with EM conditions.
"When it has been confirmed that a person has absconded, Corrections' staff contact the police who are the responsible agency for locating the person."
Police Superintendent Dave Greig said police prioritised locating individuals based on their risk of further offending, risk to victims, and risk to police and members of the public.
"For example, an escaped person could range from a decamping shoplifter to someone who is actively attacking police or members of the public," Grieg said.
"Intelligence teams can prepare a front-line intelligence report, a brief snapshot about the escaped individual, and a front-line risk alert can be issued to staff, where required."
Incidents involving an escape were usually reviewed by a supervisor and if a specific issue that allowed the person to escape was identified, the review's findings may be documented in "Lessons Learnt" which are provided to all staff, he said.
- This story was originally published on the Herald.
