The number of escapes fell from 72 in 1977 to a low of 23 in 1979 and then rose to 40 in 1980, a drop of over 44 percent from the 1977 level. In 1980, three-fourths of the inmates who escaped had been committed for robbery or burglary, while percentages in the 4 earlier years ranged from only 50-66 percent. Fifty percent of the escapees in 1980 were from minimum security camp facilities, while about 47 percent were from such camps in 1978; for the other 3 years, the percentage escaping from camps was 20-27 percent. Escapes from facilities housing females have fallen rapidly in the 5-year period, from a high of 13 in 1976 to none in 1980. In 1980, 72.5 percent of escapees were returned to custody within 1 week, a substantially higher percentage than in the previous 4 years. The smallest number of escapees were serving life terms in 1979 and 1980 (four each year). The median age of escapees in 1980 was 22.8 years, the lowest for the 5-year period. About 88 percent of escapees in all 5 years had prior adult criminal records. Tabular and graphic data are provided. (Author summary modified)