Prison escapes down from 1 244 a year to 50 - Correctional Services

Escapes from South African prisons have been significantly reduced over the past two decades, the Department of Correctional Services said on Friday, following a daring breakout in Johannesburg earlier this week.

Spokesperson Logan Maistry said they had recorded 50 escapes from the country’s 243 "correctional facilities" between April 2016 and March 2017.

In 2015/16, the number of escapes stood at 71. Forty-nine escapes were recorded in 2014/15, and 60 in 2013/14.

Maistry compared these statistics to 1995, when 1 244 escapes occurred.