The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is supporting research to respond to the study requirement included in the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 (DCRA). Specifically, the DCRA requires the Attorney General to conduct a study and submit a report to Congress using the information reported by the states and federal law enforcement agencies to “(A) determine means by which such information can be used to reduce the number of such deaths, and (B) examine the relationship, if any, between the number of such deaths and the actions of management of such jails, prisons, and other specified facilities relating to such deaths” (See 34 U.S.C. § 60105 (f)(1)(A) & (B)).
NIJ commissioned two studies to collectively respond to the DCRA study requirement:
Literature Review and Data Analysis on Deaths in Custody
The report from the first study reviews existing research literature and data focused on the prevalence, patterns, and contexts of deaths in custody; discusses the limitations of the existing research; and presents findings from a new analysis of data on mortality in correctional institutions. In the new analysis, decedent data reported through the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Mortality in Correctional Institutions program is linked to other collections that include information about facility characteristics and practices, as an initial step to explore factors associated with deaths in correctional institutions. Finally, the report considers implications of the findings and opportunities for improving the future collection and analysis of data on deaths in custody.
Deaths in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) Study, 2021-2024
To build on the first study, NIJ contracted with RTI International in late 2021 to conduct a broader three-year study involving a national-level review and analysis of policies, practices, and available data addressing deaths in custody, along with in-depth case studies of multiple sites and agency types. The RTI research team produced an interim report titled Understanding and Reducing Deaths in Custody: Interim Report. The report describes findings from the national-level review, which consisted of a comprehensive literature and policy review and secondary analyses of existing data on deaths in custody.
The secondary analyses relied on existing federal data sources and — when comprehensive federal data were unavailable — open-source data to understand the prevalence, scope, and incident characteristics associated with these deaths. Decedent data were also linked to agency and community data sources to investigate the associations between agency characteristics, policies, practices, and programs and deaths. The report is organized by the three main contexts in which deaths in custody occur: law enforcement, jails, and prisons. In each context, the data reveal unique prevalence rates, causes and manners of death, and other situational factors requiring tailored policies, practices, and strategies for preventing and reducing deaths. RTI also provided policy and practice recommendations based on the study’s findings and existing research to encourage agencies and other system stakeholders to use existing evidence to increase safety and reduce deaths.
The final research report from the study is expected to be published in 2025. The report will describe findings from case studies with ten criminal justice agencies to understand the policies, programs, and practices that practitioners engage in to prevent or reduce deaths in custody.