Legal Definitions - prison breach

Prison breach refers to the criminal act of a person forcibly breaking out of a place where they are lawfully confined, such as a prison, jail, or other detention facility. This offense specifically involves using force or causing damage to the structure of the confinement facility itself to create an exit and escape. It is distinct from a simple escape, which might not involve such forceful destruction of property.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: During a riot, an inmate uses a metal pipe to smash through a brick wall in the prison's recreation yard, creating a hole large enough to crawl through and escape the facility.

  Explanation: This scenario demonstrates prison breach because the inmate used force (smashing the wall with a pipe) to physically break a part of the prison structure to facilitate their departure from lawful confinement.

• Example 2: A group of detainees in a county jail manages to acquire tools and systematically cuts through several layers of a perimeter fence, damaging the fence and creating an opening to flee the premises.

  Explanation: This illustrates prison breach as the detainees employed force and caused damage (cutting the fence) to the physical barriers of their confinement to achieve their escape.

• Example 3: A person held in a courthouse holding cell repeatedly kicks the cell door until the locking mechanism breaks and the door swings open, allowing them to run out of the courthouse.

  Explanation: This is an example of prison breach because the individual used physical force (kicking) to break a component of their confinement (the door's locking mechanism) to depart from lawful custody.