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21/11/2006
Seventy prisoners abscond from open jail
At least seventy criminals, including three murderers, have absconded from an open prison this year, the Home Office has revealed.
Twenty-nine prisoners who fled from Ford Open Prison in Arundel, West Sussex, are still on the run, including a murderer who is serving a life sentence.
According to the figures, the inmates absconded from the prison between January 1 and October 16 this year. Thirteen disappeared in March, followed by 15 in May and eleven in September.
The offences committed by the offenders included burglary, driving while disqualified and possession of a false passport, as well as drugs offences and murder.
The Home Office released the information in response to a Parliamentary question by Shadow Home Affairs Minister Nick Herbert. He described the situation as a "total disgrace".
Ford Open Prison has been at the centre of controversy before. In May, it was revealed that 11 foreign national offenders had walked out of the prison in May. Home Secretary John Reid then ordered another 141 foreign inmates to be transferred to different locations amid concerns that more prisoners would flee the prison.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said that it was not possible to guarantee that inmates would not abscond from an open prison.
(KMcA)
Twenty-nine prisoners who fled from Ford Open Prison in Arundel, West Sussex, are still on the run, including a murderer who is serving a life sentence.
According to the figures, the inmates absconded from the prison between January 1 and October 16 this year. Thirteen disappeared in March, followed by 15 in May and eleven in September.
The offences committed by the offenders included burglary, driving while disqualified and possession of a false passport, as well as drugs offences and murder.
The Home Office released the information in response to a Parliamentary question by Shadow Home Affairs Minister Nick Herbert. He described the situation as a "total disgrace".
Ford Open Prison has been at the centre of controversy before. In May, it was revealed that 11 foreign national offenders had walked out of the prison in May. Home Secretary John Reid then ordered another 141 foreign inmates to be transferred to different locations amid concerns that more prisoners would flee the prison.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said that it was not possible to guarantee that inmates would not abscond from an open prison.
(KMcA)
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