Section 4537.

(a) The person in charge of any secure detention facility, including, but not limited to, a prison, a juvenile hall, a county jail, or any institution under the jurisdiction of the California Youth Authority, shall promptly notify the chief of police of the city in which the facility is located, or the sheriff of the county if the facility is located in an unincorporated area, of an escape by a person in its custody.

(b) The person in charge of any secure detention facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections or the Department of the Youth Authority shall release the name of, and any descriptive information about, any person who has escaped from custody to other law enforcement agencies, or to other persons if the release of the information would be necessary to assist in recapturing the person or to protect the public from substantial physical harm.

(c) In addition to the requirements of subdivisions (a) and (b), in cases of escape by persons in the custody of the Department of Corrections who have been convicted of a felony listed in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 or who have effected the escape by force or violence as proscribed by subdivision (a) of Section 4530, prompt notification shall be given to the newspapers of general circulation within the county in which the escape occurred, and to television stations regularly broadcasting news into and within the county, accompanied by a photograph and description of the escapee.

(Amended by Stats. 1990, Ch. 819, Sec. 1.)