THERE WERE 94 FELON ESCAPES FROM THE VIRGINIA CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM, A DECREASE OF 61.9 PERCENT FROM THE 247 ESCAPES WHICH OCCURRED IN 1976. THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF ESCAPES PER YEAR DURING THE PERIOD 1967-77 WAS 242. OF THE ESCAPES, 57 (60.7 PERCENT) WERE WHITE MALES AND 32 (34 PERCENT) WERE NONWHITE MALES. TWO WHITE AND THREE NONWHITE WOMEN ALSO ESCAPED. THE LARGEST NUMBER OF ESCAPES OCCURRED DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST, WITH MORE THAN HALF (68.1 PERCENT) TAKING PLACE DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS. MOST ESCAPES OCCURRED WHILE INMATES WERE IN A CORRECTIONAL FIELD UNIT OR MAJOR INSTITUTION. ESCAPES FROM HIGHWAY WORK FORCE ASSIGNMENTS ACCOUNTED FOR 26 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL. ONLY ONE ESCAPE WAS COMMITTED BY A PRISONER ON FURLOUGH. ALMOST HALF OF ALL ESCAPEES WERE NOT YET ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE AT THE TIME OF THE ESCAPE, AND THE MAJORITY OF THE ESCAPEES WERE SERVING SENTENCES OF 20 YEARS OR MORE. THE LARGEST PROPORTION OF ALL ESCAPES, 34.1 PERCENT, OCCURRED IN THE AGE GROUP BETWEEN 20 AND 24 YEARS, AND 64.9 PERCENT WERE UNDER 30 YEARS. PRIOR FELONY OR MISDEMEANANT SENTENCES HAD BEEN SERVED BY 61.7 PERCENT OF THE ESCAPEES. ESCAPEES WITH A HISTORY OF ONE OR MORE ESCAPES NUMBERED 29.8 PERCENT OF ALL ESCAPES, A DECREASE FROM 31.2 PERCENT IN 1976. OTHER DATA ON ESCAPEES EXAMINE TYPE OF OFFENSES BEING SERVED, MARITAL STATUS, MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS, CUSTODY STATUS, EDUCATION AND INTELLIGENCE, INSTITUTION FROM WHICH ESCAPE TOOK PLACE, DAY OF ESCAPE, TIME ESCAPEE REMAINED FREE, CRIMES COMMITTED WHILE AT LARGE, STATUS OF PARENTS, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, AND EMPLOYMENT HISTORY. THE REPORT CONTAINS GRAPHS AND EXTENSIVE TABULAR DATA, WITH SOURCE MATERIAL NOTED IN THE APPENDIX. (PRG)