A British prisoner described as extremely dangerous was among a group of inmates to escape a high-security prison in Portugal. Mark Cameron Roscaleer and four others fled from the Vale de Judeus prison, around 40 miles from Lisbon, on September 7 after scaling the wall with a ladder. A spokesperson for the Portuguese prison service suggested the prisoners had “external help” that facilitated the escape.
Roscaleer was serving a nine-year sentence for kidnapping and robbery, while the other escapees were in jail for 25 years for a number of offenses, including drug trafficking, theft, robbery, and kidnapping.
The Sindicato Nacional do Corpo da Guarda Prisional (SNCGP) – Portugal’s prison officers’ union – explained that all five men are “extremely dangerous” and warned members of the public not to approach them. Frederico Morais, the union leader, attributed the escape to low staffing levels, explaining that the prison’s surveillance towers were unmanned at the time.
Mr. Morais published images of the prisoners escaping, as well as their mugshots. He said the prisoners fled the jail in two waiting cars and were “very well prepared.” At a press conference, the national director of the Judicial Police, Luis Neves, stated that the men had previously tried to escape and that they would do anything to remain free, including potentially committing murder. “Human life may be at stake here,” he warned.
Herminio Barradas, president of the Association of Chiefs of the Prison Guards Corps (ASCCGP), also blamed staffing shortages and remarked that the escape was filmed on CCTV, but there were not enough guards on duty to step in and prevent it. Mr. Morais explained that there are roughly 13,000 prisoners in Portugal but only 4,000 prison guards. He argued that the ideal figure would be 5,500 and urged the government to hire at least 500 people immediately and put them to work “as soon as possible.”
Morais said there were 31 guards on duty on the morning of the escape, but back in 2018, the number was 50. He noted everything else was the same, but the number of guards had collapsed.
