BJA is publishing these tables that reflect the information that has been reported by the states. BJA, the Office of Justice Programs, and the Department of Justice make no representations about the completeness or accuracy of this information. This information does not constitute official statistics of the federal government and does not comport with the Information Quality Guidelines of the Department of Justice or Office of Justice Programs. Caution should be taken when interpreting or using this information. States are routinely asked to review, add, and update information. As such, BJA will periodically update the data presented below.

To protect confidentiality of individual decedents, values of less than 5 have been masked.

Figure 1 shows the total number of deaths by location type for fiscal years 2020–2023. The following definitions apply to location type:

• Prison: Refers to the death of a person detained within the prison facility or within the facility immediately prior to the transfer to a medical facility where the death occurred.
• Jail: Refers to the death of a person detained within a jail facility or within the facility immediately prior to the transfer to a medical facility where the death occurred.
• State/Local Law Enforcement: Refers to the death of a person who was under arrest or in the process of being arrested (see the definition for “under arrest or in the process of arrest”).
• Community Corrections: Refers to the death of a person detained within a community correctional center or pre-release center where the individual is not free to leave at will. 

The table’s filter allows you to view the number of deaths by location as well as the manner of death. Manner of death includes the following: 

• Accident
• Death attributed to use of force by law enforcement or corrections officer
• Execution
• Homicide (e.g., an altercation between two or more incarcerated individuals)
• Natural causes
• Other
• Suicide
• Unavailable, investigation pending 

NOTE: Unknown location type may include deaths occurring in jails, prisons, or other facilities, as well as unidentified arrest-related deaths. These are decedents that have been reported by state corrections departments, state or local law enforcement, or unknown sources, but it is not possible to discern where they were detained prior to or at the time of their death from the information provided.

Figure 2 shows the total number of deaths by manner of death for fiscal years 2020–2023. The following definitions apply to manner of death:

• Accident: A death that occurs due to an unintentional injury or event—such as falls, vehicle crashes when an officer has terminated pursuit, or other mishaps—not directly caused by the actions of another person.
• Death Attributed to Use of Force by Law Enforcement or Corrections Officer: A death that results directly from the use of physical force by a law enforcement or corrections officer, including use of service weapon, taser deployment, physical restraint, Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver, or other means of force.
• Execution: A death that occurs as the result of a judicially ordered execution, where the individual was sentenced to death by the court and the sentence was carried out.
• Homicide (e.g., an altercation between two or more incarcerated individuals): A death that is the result of intentional actions by another individual, such as during a fight or altercation between incarcerated individuals, excluding deaths caused by law enforcement or corrections officers.
• Natural Causes: A death that occurs due to a medical condition or disease, such as heart disease, cancer, or other illnesses, without any external contributing factors.
• Other: A category for deaths that do not clearly fall into the defined categories, or when manner of death cannot be determined. 
• Suicide: A death resulting from the intentional act of an individual to end their own life, typically through methods such as hanging, overdose, or self-inflicted injury.
• Unavailable, Investigation Pending: A temporary classification used when the cause of death is not yet determined or disclosed due to an ongoing investigation or pending autopsy results.

Figure 3 shows the total number of deaths by fiscal and by demographic characteristics. 

Unknown Location Type: The "Unknown" location type category includes deaths where the facility type is unreported and specific facility name or point of origin is missing. This category includes three subtypes: 

1. Unknown Facility but SAA selected State Prison (UFSP), where the record is classified as a state prison but lacks a specific facility name
2. Unknown Facility reported by Law Enforcement (UF-LE), where the record indicates "none of the above" or similar categories, with the reporting agency being a police or sheriff’s department, often involving deaths in hospitals
3. Unknown Facility reported by Corrections (UF-C), which is similar to UF-LE but with the Department of Corrections as the reporting agency. These deaths frequently occur in hospitals or medical centers, suggesting incarcerated individuals were transferred from a prison or jail prior to death. 

Unknown Ethnicity: Many state and local jurisdictions no longer collect and report ethnicity or ethnicity separate from race. This has resulted in many decedents reported with an “unknown” ethnicity. 

Age Range: BJA imputes the age of the decedent based on their birth year.

[1]While states are responsible, under the DCRA statute, for submitting DCRA data to the Department, all of the data originates with entities other than the State Administering Agencies responsible for collecting and submitting the data, including state Departments of Corrections, local law enforcement agencies, local or county jails, and medical examiners or coroners. BJA continues to provide training and technical assistance to support states in improving the quality and completeness of all submitted data.