Keeping people where they’re supposed to be is not easy – just ask the Halifax Regional Police.

In 2014, the rate of escape from lawful custody in the Halifax area was triple that of runner-up London, Ont.

Numbers from Statistics Canada detailing the number of violations from the period 2010-2014 has Halifax at the top of cities in Canada where offenders in custody have escaped. In sheer numbers of actual violations, Halifax is second place only to Montreal, Que. Below are the five cities with the highest number of violations. 

Montreal and Halifax have been steady first and second place for the last five years. In 2014, the HRP documented 116 cases of escape to Montreal’s 247, and while Halifax’s number is less than half of that of Montreal, the picture changes drastically when one looks at the crime rate.

A crime rate is found by dividing the number of violations by population size, and then multiplying that number by 100,000, thereby taking the size of the city into account.

With that in mind, Montreal’s rate of offence in 2014 is slightly more than six. For Halifax, that number is 28, meaning an escape from custody happens with more than four times the frequency. And it’s not an isolated statistical blip. While most cities’ rate rarely break double digits, Halifax hasn’t dipped below 25 in the last five years. Below are the five cities with the highest rate.

But ascribing a cause to Halifax’s high numbers isn’t straightforward, as the charge of escaping lawful custody doesn’t necessarily mean tunneling out of prison or leaping from police vans. In Canada’s Criminal Code, Section 145 details the charge of escaping lawful custody, but it has many subsections to it.

“It’s a frequent charge,” says Const. Dianne Woodworth of the Halifax Regional Police. “The majority of the charges are people being on court-imposed conditions and breaching those conditions. If they don’t abide by those conditions and don’t show up to court, they’re charged with 145.”

Another cause of Halifax’s high number may be its proximity to the correctional facility in Dartmouth, and the number of offenders on conditional sentences.  

“If people are on conditional sentence, and they’re perhaps doing weekends, and they don’t show up, when those people are arrested, they are charged under Section 145,” says Woodworth. “I was looking at calls from last year from that facility and there are over a thousand, not all for people being AWOL, but a lot of them are for that.”

Of course, there still is the old-fashioned escape attempt.

“It’s applicable when someone tries to run away from us while in custody. We had one the other day where the person was charged. I mean, they ran two feet, but still, they tried to get away from us, so that’s escaping lawful custody,” says Woodworth.

According to Woodworth, a smaller city like Halifax allows police to better acquaint themselves with people on conditional sentences and keep better track. This heightens the frequency by which police officers notices violations of court-ordered conditions. 

“If you’re working in certain areas and working with the same people, you almost get to know exactly what their conditions are and you’re like ‘Oh, they’re in breach, because they’re not supposed to be here or be with that person,” says Woodworth.

While most of the violations happen outside of prison walls, the province’s still looking to strengthen the security around the correctional facility in Dartmouth. The 2015/16 Capital Plan has part of this year’s budget set aside for renovating the facility and upgrading its security surveillance.