MP and governor at odds over Ford absconders

The figures, revealed by the Home Office after questions raised in parliament by Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert, show that 70 prisoners have absconded in the last year.

Speaking to the Gazette yesterday, (Wednesday) Ms Radford said that although no absconding rate was acceptable, the number of prisoners who had walked out had been steadily decreasing over the last three years.

The prison's records, collated in the financial year and not the calendar year like the Home Office's figures, show that the figure had gone down year-on-year from 142 in 2003/04 to 110 in 2004/05, 96 in 2005//06.

From April 1, to the end of October this year, 46 prisoners had absconded.

"I think it's a shame that the figures are not looked at in context with the overall abscond rates in previous years," said Ms Radford. "Also, the public don't always understand that to abscond is not the same as to escape.

"We have got open grounds so it's not a question of digging under a fence or jumping over a wall. These are also low-risk prisoners, many of whom are near the end of their sentences so it's not like a high-risk prisoner escaping from a maximum-security jail.

"We have done well to bring the number down and have worked hard to identify those prisoners who are at risk of absconding and move them to closed conditions."

MP Nick Herbert, who described the situation as "a total disgrace", said he would welcome any decline in the figure but maintained that the number of prisoners walking out was still too high.

He said: "My concern is that the number of absconders remains very high. The security record at the prison has been lamentable and I doubt much confidence in the prison remains in the local community."

*Police arrested one Ford abscondee in Rustington on November 10 and charged him with the thefts of several charity collection boxes from stores in Littlehampton over the last month.