Fugitive Kevin Polwart left a graffiti taunt to police before breaking out of prison: "catch me if u can."

Police this evening released an image of a crudely drawn rabbit with the taunt drawn on a concrete slab at Auckland Prison at Paremoremo where he escaped from on Wednesday.

Detective Senior Sergeant Kim Libby of the North Shore CIB said Polwart displayed both arrogance and confidence in provoking police.

ON THE RUN: Kevin Polwart.

It is Polwart's second prison escape, and in 1999 he made headlines for making phone calls to media baiting police while on the run after an armed heist of an Armourguard van.

Police were speaking to relatives and associates and making inquiries in areas where he has known connections, including the Wellington and Northland regions.

There have been no confirmed sightings of him since his escape.

Police said Polwart was likely to implicate others such as family and associates to help him avoid capture as he started to feel the pressure of being on the run.

Anyone who assists Polwart willingly faces serious criminal charges, police said.

Police urged Polwart to hand himself in, and said they would manage his safe repatriation.

The public is warned not to approach Polwart, but to call police immediately on 111.

Anonymous information can be passed to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Polwart was jailed for 10 years after he and his brother Leslie Polwart, armed with shotguns, held up an Armourguard van in Paraparaumu in 1999.

He gave himself up after six weeks.

In 2001 he cut through a fence at Rimutaka Prison using a cellphone from inside the jail to call a taxi - and went on the run for 41 days.

While on the run he held up an Auckland security guard and made off with $60,000 before being captured during a police raid on a house in Porirua.

Armourguard have stepped up their security since Polwart's latest escape.