Absconders from Prison

Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FOI/25/009107/N

Version Date: 08/12/2025

The Intelligence Department has provided the following information:

Data Source:
Crime information system – Niche

Caveats:
There are only two active prisons in the Force area, both in Devon, namely Exeter Prison and Channing’s Wood. So compared to other areas of the country our numbers are generally low for prison-related offences that require investigation.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide me with a list of all the absconders from prison who remain at large now, where Devon & Cornwall Constabulary is the relevant police force that instigated or has led the manhunt.

Using the formal definition that I see is used by some police forces, an absconder from prison may be any person who:
a. has been remanded in custody pending trial and has absconded; or

We have no investigations or manhunts for people who have absconded/escaped a prison whilst on remand.

b. has been convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment following a trial or guilty plea and absconded.
or

We have no investigations or manhunts for people who have absconded/escaped a prison whilst serving a custodial sentence.

c. has been released on temporary license (ROTL) whilst serving a custodial sentence and has absconded.

We have seven individuals who were released on license from Prison, whom the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has since contacted the Police to ask that we locate and return them to prison as they have breached the terms of their release license. These are active investigations to locate and return to prison seven individuals. Please note it is not the location of the prison they were released from that determines the investigating Force, but rather the area the prisoner was released to which is usually based on the area of the probation team which will manage them. Hence these seven individuals were not necessarily released from a Devon prison.

For each absconder, please detail which of the a, b or c definitions above applies to them. Please also detail which facility they absconded from (such as an open prison), what offence they had been charged with or convicted of, the length of their sentence if they had been convicted, and the date on which they absconded. These cases may be just a few days old or they may date back years if they have never been captured.