Escapes from Federal Custody: Fiscal Year 2024 to 2025

Research Highlight: Escapes typically involved walkaways from minimum security facilities and occurred soon after the offender’s arrival to the institution.

Number: RIB-25-16
Date: 2025

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Why we did this study

Escapes from federal institutions are relatively uncommon events, though are a key indicator of correctional performance, with implications for public safety and public confidence. The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) regularly reviews details surrounding escapes and the profiles of offenders involved.

What we did

Information pertaining to escape incidents^{Footnote 1}  in fiscal year 2024 to 2025 was examined, including incident details and characteristics of the individual(s) involved. Information sources included Incident Reports, Warden Situation Reports, and case documents located in the Offender Management System (OMS).

What we found

In fiscal year 2024 to 2025, there were 19 escapes. This represented an increase from previous years (see Table 1). There were 7 incidents at Healing Lodges (the same number reported in the year prior), and 12 incidents at other CSC institutions (compared to 2 in the year prior). 

Consistent with prior years, the highest incident count was in the Prairie region (9), however, there was an increase in the Ontario (5) and Quebec (4) regions, relative to prior years. The 5 cases in Ontario corresponded with 3 unique events, as 2 incidents involved more than 1 offender. All other incidents during the fiscal year period involved a single instigator. Incidents were primarily “walkways” from minimum security institutions (all but 1 incident involved a minimum security offender). Most offenders (89%) were recaptured within 1 day.

In most cases (89%), the security level at the time of incident was not the initial security classification on the current sentence. Most (63%) incidents occurred within 6 months of the offender’s arrival to the institution of escape. Proximal risk factors that may have contributed to motivations for escape varied (such as, recent negative news, recent institutional incident, family conflict/crisis, interpersonal conflict, escalating stress, mental health concerns, upcoming release).

Indigenous offenders were overrepresented in escape incidents (such as, accounted for 58% of incidents). Most offenders (74%) involved in escapes were serving a determinate sentence. Among those serving a determinate sentence, a majority (42%) were within 1 year of their Statutory Release date.

Note: Counts include the total number of unique individuals involved in escape incidents.

What it means

While the nature of escape incidents in fiscal year 2024 to 2025 was generally consistent with prior years, there was an increase in the number of incidents, specifically those occurring at institutions other than Healing Lodges. Most incidents involved minimum security offenders, many of whom were scheduled for community release within the following year.

CSC monitors, tracks, and investigates all escape incidents to inform preventative measures, including structured assessments of escape risk, static and dynamic security systems, and case management and programs intended to address risk factors, including culturally-responsive interventions.

For more information

Please e-mail the Research Branch at research@csc-scc.gc.ca. 

You can also visit the Research Publications section for a full list of reports and 1 page summaries.

Prepared by: Molly Stewart