Jail-breaker on the run before

Kevin Polwart. Photo / Supplied

Police are this morning still hunting for an escaped prisoner who was years earlier on the run for 41 days, in which time he robbed a security van of thousands of dollars, after a previous jailbreak.

Kevin Polwart, 49, who is eight years into his sentence for armed robbery and related offences, escaped from a Corrections employment workshop in a lower security unit at Auckland Prison at Paremoremo and got through a perimeter fence about midday yesterday.

Corrections said it was still investigating how he managed to escape but during his first prison break staff found a dummy in his cell bed and inmates had created diversions.

Police yesterday asked local residents to lock their homes and vehicles and said anyone who discovered forced entry should contact police and wait until their house had been cleared before entering.

They advised locals not to give anyone a lift in their vehicle.

North Shore area commander Les Paterson said that up to 20 police, some armed, searched the area yesterday. They had blocked of streets close to the prison and warned of traffic delays.

"There was a window of time between when he was last seen and when the police search commenced that would have allowed for a considerable amount of ground to be covered on foot.

"The area is surrounded by bush, estuaries and rural lifestyle blocks making the search slow and difficult."

He said if Polwart was not located by nightfall police would stay in the area overnight to "provide reassurance for residents and a rapid response capability for any sightings".

In June 2001, Polwart escaped from the Rimutaka prison kitchen and used wire cutters to get through a fence.

He had been serving a 10-year sentence for the 1999 gunpoint robbery of a security van in Paraparaumu which netted nearly $600,000.

The next month, after 29 days on the run, he robbed a security van in Three Kings Plaza in Auckland, stealing more than $40,000 in cash and $19,500 in cheques.

He was recaptured that month in Porirua with two firearms.

A report found that several department failures had aided Polwart's first escape. Polwart, who was eligible for parole in October and had a final release date of February 2015, is described as Maori, 165cm tall and of medium build.