By Christopher J. Mumola

BJS Policy Analyst

 

Data from new Bureau of Justice

Statistics (BJS) data collections offer

the first opportunity to analyze the

personal characteristics, current

offenses, and environmental factors

surrounding inmate deaths in local jails

and State prisons nationwide.

To implement the Death in Custody

Reporting Act of 2000 (PL 106-297),

BJS began collecting inmate death

records from all local jails in 2000 and

expanded reporting to include State

prisons in 2001. In this first report from

the Deaths in Custody Reporting

Program, data from 2000 to 2002

highlight inmate and facility characteristics related to high risks of suicide and

homicide. 

Jail suicide rates declined steadily from

129 per 100,000 inmates in 1983 to 47

per 100,000 in 2002. In 1983 suicide

accounted for the majority of jail deaths

(56%), but by 2002, the most common

cause of jail deaths was natural causes

(including AIDS) (52%), well ahead of

suicides (32%). Suicide rates in State

prison fell from 34 per 100,000 in 1980

to 16 per 100,000 in 1990, and have

since stabilized.

State prison homicide rates dipped

sharply from 1980 (54 per 100,000) to

1990 (8 per 100,000). By 2002 prison

homicide rates had declined further,

down to 4 per 100,000. Homicide rates

in local jails were more stable, declining slightly from 5 per 100,000 in 1983

to 3 per 100,000 in 2002. 

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Special Report

Suicide and Homicide 

in State Prisons and Local Jails

 August 2005, NCJ 210036

w In 2002 the suicide rate in local 

jails (47 per 100,000 inmates) was 

over 3 times the rate in State prisons

(14 per 100,000 inmates).

w The suicide rate in the Nation’s 

50 largest jail systems (29 per 

100,000 inmates) was half that 

of other jails (57 per 100,000).

y Violent offenders in both local jails

(92 per 100,000) and State prisons 

(19 per 100,000) had suicide rates 

over twice as high as those of nonviolent offenders (31 and 9 per 100,000

respectively).

y Homicide rates were similar in 

local jails (3 per 100,000) and State

prisons (4 per 100,000).

y 67% of homicide victims in State

prisons had served at least 2 years;

37% had served 5 years.

y Violent offenders were the victims 

of most State prison homicides 

(61%), and their jail homicide rate 

(5 per 100,000) was over twice that 

of nonviolent offenders (2 per

100,000).

Highlights

Homicide rates in State prisons dropped 93% from 1980 to 2002

State prison, local jail suicide rates have fallen sharply since the 1980’s

Other/unknown 22 32 46 3.6 38 38 1.3

Intoxication 37 58 54 5.2 35 37 1.2

Accident 25 35 35 3.3 23 31 0.9

Homicide 17 22 20 2.1 39 48 1.5

Suicide 289 315 314 32.3 169 168 5.8

AIDS 60 59 50 5.9 270 245 8.8

Illness 462 432 459 47.6 % 2,304 2,379 80.4 %

All causes 912 953 978 100 % 2,878 2,946 100%

Cause 2000 2001 2002 percent 2001 2002 percent

2000-02 2001-02

Local jail inmate deaths State prison inmate deaths

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Homicides per 100,000 inmates

Prisons

Jails

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Suicides per 100,000 inmates

Jails

Prisons

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Homicides per 100,000 inmates

Prisons

Jails
2 Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails

The Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 

The passage of the Death in Custody Reporting Act of

2000 (DICRA, PL 106-297) dramatically altered programs

collecting data on inmate deaths. Prior to the act, BJS

conducted annual counts of State prisoner deaths. Counts

of jail inmate deaths were collected in the Census of Jails,

which is conducted every 5 or 6 years. For both populations, death counts were obtained by gender and by

general cause categories, such as illness/natural causes,

AIDS, suicide, and homicide. These aggregate counts of

deaths did not allow for analysis of individual death cases.

DICRA was attached as a grant requirement of the Violent

Offender Incarceration and Truth-in-Sentencing (VOI/TIS)

incentive grant program. Beginning in 1996, these grants

provided over $2.5 billion to all 50 States and U.S. Territories for expanding prison capacity to house violent offenders for longer periods. Each State receiving VOI/TIS funds

was required under DICRA to report:

"on a quarterly basis, information regarding the death

of any person who is in the process of arrest,

is en route to be incarcerated, or is incarcerated at a

municipal or county jail, State prison, or other local or

State correctional facility (including any juvenile

facility) that, at a minimum, includes —

(A) the name, gender, race, ethnicity, and age of the

deceased; 

(B) the date, time, and location of death; and 

(C) a brief description of the circumstances surrounding the death."

BJS developed a new series of collections to meet the

mandates of the act. Aggregate counts of deaths were

replaced by detailed, individual inmate death records,

collected every 3 months from over 3,000 jail jurisdictions, 

50 State prison systems, juvenile correctional authorities 

in all 50 States, and roughly 18,000 State and local law 

enforcement agencies nationwide. These new data collections were phased in over 4 years, with local jails reporting 

in 2000, followed by State prisons in 2001 and State

juvenile authorities in 2002. A network of statewide law

enforcement reporters began submitting arrest-related

death records to BJS in 2003.

With these new collections, BJS has enhanced both the

frequency and scope of its data on inmate mortality.

Among other improvements, BJS now collects information

on specific medical causes of death, as determined by a 

coroner or medical examiner. BJS replaced a general

category of "illness/natural causes," with specific categories of medical conditions related to mortality, such as

cancer, heart disease, and hepatitis C. A detailed analysis

of these fatal medical conditions will be the focus of the

next report from this data collection series.

Over the past two decades, State prison and local jail

inmate mortality rates have displayed some dynamic

changes. Suicide was the leading cause of death among

jail inmates in 1983 (129 per 100,000 inmates); by 1993

that rate had been cut by more than half (54 per 100,000

inmates), and illness/natural cause (67 per 100,000) had

become the most common cause of jail deaths. By 2002

the jail suicide rate (47 per 100,000) had fallen to nearly a

third of the 1983 rate. Rates of death from AIDS-related

causes in jails also declined; the 2002 rate (8 per 100,000)

was less than half of the 1988 rate (20 per 100,000). As a

result of these reductions, the overall mortality rate in local

jails dropped 37% between 1983 and 2002.

State prison suicide rates have historically been much

lower than those of jails, but these also dropped sharply

from 34 per 100,000 in 1980 to 14 per 100,000 inmates 

in 2002. Even more dramatic was the decline in homicide

deaths, from 54 per 100,000 inmates in 1980 to 8 per

100,000 inmates in 1990, and to 4 per 100,000 inmates 

in 2002. With the introduction of new therapies during the

1990’s, AIDS-related mortality rates in State prison fell

rapidly from 100 per 100,000 inmates in 1995 to 15 per

100,000 inmates 5 years later. Overall State prisoner mortality rates have grown slightly (6%) since 1980, mostly due

to illness/natural causes (up 40% since 1980). 

Long term trends show steep declines in rates of State prisoner homicide and local jail inmate suicide

Note: Mortality rates are based on average daily population for each

year. Data on deaths for 1983-99 are from the Census of Jails; data

from 2000-02 are from the Deaths in Custody data series.

-- Not available.

1983 232 88 -- 129 5

1988 199 82 20 85 3

1993 149 67 15 54 4

1999 154 64 13 54 5

2000 147 74 10 47 3

2001 151 68 9 50 3

2002 147 69 8 47 3

AIDS Suicide Homicide

Illness/

natural cause

All 

Year causes

Local jail inmate mortality rate, per 100,000 inmates

Note: Mortality rates for 1980-2000 are based on death counts of

sentenced prisoners and the December 31 jurisdiction population as

collected in the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program. Rates

for 2001-02 are based on counts from the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program and the NPS June 30 custody population count.

*Excludes executions. -- Not available.

1980 233 141 -- 34 54

1985 239 163 -- 26 24

1990 228 187 -- 16 8

1995 308 165 100 16 9

2000 238 190 15 16 5

2001 242 194 23 14 3

2002 246 198 20 14 4

AIDS Suicide Homicide

Illness/

natural cause

All 

Year causes*

State prison inmate mortality rate, per 100,000 inmates

Note: Mortality rates are based on average daily population for each

year. Data on deaths for 1983-99 are from the Census of Jails; data

from 2000-02 are from the Deaths in Custody data series.

-- Not available.

1983 232 88 -- 129 5

1988 199 82 20 85 3

1993 149 67 15 54 4

1999 154 64 13 54 5

2000 147 74 10 47 3

2001 151 68 9 50 3

2002 147 69 8 47 3

AIDS Suicide Homicide

Illness/

natural cause

All 

Year causes

Local jail inmate mortality rate, per 100,000 inmates

1980 233 141 -- 34 54

1985 239 163 -- 26 24

1990 228 187 -- 16 8

1995 308 165 100 16 9

2000 238 190 15 16 5

2001 242 194 23 14 3

2002 246 198 20 14 4

AIDS Suicide Homicide

Illness/

natural cause

All 

Year causes*

State prison inmate mortality rate, per 100,000 inmates
Nationwide, 337 State prisoners

committed suicide during 2001-02

Suicide and homicide accounted for a

combined 7% of all State prisoner

deaths during 2001-02 (table 1). The

average annual suicide rate of State

prisoners (14 suicides per 100,000

prisoners) was a third of that of local

jail inmates (48). 

Prison suicide rates showed wide

variation at the State level. New

Hampshire, Nebraska, and North

Dakota all reported no suicide deaths

during the 2-year period. Another six

States had suicide rates of 5 per

100,000 prisoners or lower. Thirteen

States had suicide rates of at least 25

per 100,000 prisoners, led by South

Dakota (71), Utah (49), Vermont,

Alaska, and Arkansas (each with 36).

In most State prison systems, suicides

were rare events. Only 9 States

reported as many as 10 prisoner

suicides during this period, with 42% of

all suicides taking place in four States.

California (52), Texas (49), New York

(21), and Illinois (20) reported 142 of

the Nation's 337 State prisoner

suicides. About half of all States (24)

recorded 3 or fewer suicides. 

87 State prisoners became victims 

of homicide over 2 years

Most States did not have any prisoner

homicides in the course of a year.

During 2001, 31 States reported no

prison homicides; 29 States did not

report a homicide during 2002. Three

States reported 43% of all homicides

— California (21), Texas (10), and

Maryland (6). No other State reported

more than 5 homicides during 2001-02.

Homicide rates were low in most

States, and 5 had a rate of at least 10

homicides per 100,000 prisoners, led

by South Dakota (34) and New Mexico

(17). However, even in these 5 States,

a combined total of 13 homicides were

reported over 2 years. 

 Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails 3

Note: All mortality rates are calculated based on custody populations for June 30.

*Excludes 9 total prisoner deaths reported by the District of Columbia in 2001. None of 

the 9 deaths was a suicide or homicide. The District of Columbia transferred all prisoner

custody operations to the Federal Bureau of Prisons during 2001.

Wyoming 8 1 0 260 33 0

Washington 60 4 2 192 13 6

Utah 14 4 1 170 49 12

Oregon 57 5 0 259 23 0

New Mexico 26 4 2 221 34 17

Nevada 52 3 2 260 15 10

Montana 11 1 0 199 19 0

Idaho 26 3 0 243 28 0

Hawaii 20 2 0 195 19 0

Colorado 94 5 2 268 14 6

California 625 52 21 196 16 7

Arizona 139 6 1 247 11 2

Alaska 22 3 0 263 36 0

West 1,154 93 31 213 17 6

West Virginia 25 1 0 357 14 0

Virginia 140 4 1 227 6 2

Texas 804 49 10 273 17 3

Tennessee 112 2 3 317 6 8

South Carolina 116 2 3 267 5 7

Oklahoma 115 2 4 260 5 9

North Carolina 128 8 2 197 12 3

Mississippi 69 2 0 228 7 0

Maryland 141 13 6 293 27 12

Louisiana 150 2 0 381 5 0

Kentucky 77 1 1 325 4 4

Georgia 199 10 4 217 11 4

Florida 365 11 3 251 8 2

Delaware 31 4 0 222 28 0

Arkansas 73 8 2 322 36 9

Alabama 172 2 1 342 4 2

South 2,717 121 40 267 12 4

Wisconsin 99 13 0 245 32 0

South Dakota 15 4 2 262 71 34

Ohio 229 8 2 254 9 2

North Dakota 4 0 0 192 0 0

Nebraska 15 0 0 190 0 0

Missouri 122 6 1 210 11 2

Minnesota 28 2 0 215 15 0

Michigan 227 11 1 231 11 1

Kansas 43 4 0 248 23 0

Iowa 20 3 0 123 18 0

Indiana 97 6 3 246 15 8

Illinois 158 20 2 178 22 2

Midwest 1,057 77 11 221 16 2

Vermont 6 1 0 217 36 0

Rhode Island 11 2 0 155 28 0

Pennsylvania 248 6 2 327 8 3

New York 360 21 3 264 15 2

New Jersey 129 3 0 225 5 0

New Hampshire 11 0 0 224 0 0

Massachusetts 49 3 0 239 15 0

Maine 13 1 0 370 28 0

Connecticut 60 9 0 162 24 0

Northeast 887 46 5 257 13 1

U.S. total* 5,815 337 87 244 14 4

jurisdiction All causes Suicide Homicide All causes Suicide Homicide

Number of prisoner

Region and deaths, 2001-02

Average annual mortality rate

(2001-02) per 100,000 

prisoners held at midyear

Table 1. State prison jurisdictions: Number of prisoner deaths, suicides, and

homicides, and mortality rates, per 100,000 prisoners in custody, 2001-02
Suicide rate in the Nation's 50

largest jail jurisdictions half that 

of all other jails

There are over 3,300 local jails

operated by county and municipal jurisdictions nationwide. Jails typically

hold unsentenced offenders, those

sentenced to less than a year, and

offenders sentenced to longer terms

who are awaiting transfer to State

prison. As a result, almost every State

prisoner has been through a period of

jail confinement.

Over a 3-year period (2000-02), the

Nation's 50 largest jail jurisdictions

reported a total of 1,037 deaths from all

causes (table 2). This death count

represented a higher overall mortality

rate (167 per 100,000 inmates in the

average daily population) than other

jails (140 per 100,000). 

Mortality rates varied widely among the

top 50 jurisdictions. Twelve of these 50

jurisdictions had overall mortality rates

of fewer than 100 deaths per 100,000

inmates, led by Suffolk County, Massachusetts (29), Orange County, California (42), and Mecklenburg County,

North Carolina (52). Another 16 of the

top 50 jurisdictions had rates of 200 or

more deaths per 100,000 inmates, led

by Baltimore City, Maryland (381),

Jacksonville City, Florida (341), and

Davidson County, Tennessee (291).

The 50 largest jail jurisdictions collectively had a comparatively low prevalence of suicide. Inmate suicides

accounted for 17% of all deaths in

these 50 largest jurisdictions but were

the cause of 41% of the deaths in all

other jails. The suicide rate of the 50

largest jurisdictions (29 per 100,000)

was half that of all other jails (57).

Eight of the top 50 jurisdictions

reported no suicides during 2000-02,

and another 4 jurisdictions had a

suicide rate of 10 per 100,000 or less.

Ten of these jurisdictions also had

suicide rates of at least 50 per 100,000

inmates, led by Clark County, Nevada

(107), Wayne County, Michigan (97),

and Baltimore City, Maryland (88). 

4 Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails

Note: A specified cause of death was not provided for 6 deaths reported in 2000 (5 from New

York City and 1 from Marion County), 11 deaths in 2001 (2 each from Bexar County and 

Jacksonville City, 1 each from Orleans Parish, Broward, San Diego, Hillborough, Tarrant, Clark,

and Suffolk counties), and 10 deaths in 2002 (2 from Alameda County, and 1 each from Dade,

Broward, Bexar, Hillsborough, Milwaukee, King, Franklin, and Hamilton counties).

a

The at-risk jail population combines the January 1 count with the number of annual admissions.

b

King County data include only the years 2001-02. 

c

Travis County data for 2002 exclude the Travis County Substance Abuse Treatment Facility.

d

Suffolk County data for 2000 exclude the Suffolk County House of Corrections.

Mecklenburg County, NC 3 0 52 0 2 0

York County, PA 4 0 73 0 10 0

San Francisco City/Co., CA 9 4 154 73 6 3

Hudson County, NJ 11 1 200 17 23 2

Hamilton County, OH 11 5 182 83 8 4

Cuyahoga County, OH 7 1 116 17 7 1

Cobb County, GA 5 3 77 47 4 3

Oklahoma County, OK 7 3 119 51 5 2

Fresno County, CA 14 3 205 44 11 2

El Paso County, TX 10 2 154 33 9 2

Suffolk County, MA 2 0 29 0 4 0 d

Essex County, NJ 12 1 180 14 16 1

Marion County, IN 16 2 218 27 14 2

Allegheny County, PA 16 6 208 80 17 6

Franklin County, OH 10 4 142 55 7 3

Travis County, TX 11 2 141 26 7 1 c

Kern County, CA 8 4 103 51 7 3

Palm Beach County, FL 13 0 176 0 7 0

DeKalb County, GA 7 0 78 0 6 0

Wayne County, MI 17 8 208 97 13 6

King County, WA 3 0 55 0 3 0 b

Fulton County, GA 9 3 105 35 9 3

Clark County, NV 21 8 279 107 8 3

Davidson County, TN 24 2 291 25 21 2

Pinellas County, FL 14 2 174 26 10 1

Jacksonville City, FL 30 3 341 35 20 2

Milwaukee County, WI 7 0 70 0 3 0

Tarrant County, TX 10 2 92 18 6 1

Riverside County, CA 8 4 92 46 5 3

Sacramento County, CA 20 8 206 81 11 4

Hillsborough County, FL 16 4 156 39 8 2

Baltimore City, MD 39 9 381 88 27 6

Bexar County, TX 26 2 245 20 12 1

Orange County, FL 15 1 124 8 8 1

Alameda County, CA 29 4 242 34 17 2

Santa Clara County, CA 14 5 115 40 8 3

Orange County, CA 6 1 42 7 3 1

Shelby County, TN 22 0 140 0 11 0

San Diego County, CA 23 6 153 39 8 2

San Bernardino County, CA 14 5 92 33 5 2

Broward County, FL 29 3 200 21 13 1

Orleans Parish, LA 14 2 77 10 6 1

Dallas County, TX 29 7 145 34 9 2

Harris County, TX 52 7 243 32 15 2

Dade County, FL 46 3 231 16 14 1

Philadelphia City, PA 41 6 198 29 33 5

Maricopa County, AZ 31 10 141 45 8 3

Cook County, IL 48 3 157 10 15 1

New York City, NY 99 9 224 20 27 3

Los Angeles, CA 105 12 180 21 19 2

Total 1,037 180 167 29 11 2

Jurisdiction All causes Suicide All causes Suicide All causes Suicide

Per 100,000 

inmates — at riska

Per 100,000 inmates —

average daily population

Number of inmate

deaths, 2000-02

Average annual mortality rate, 2000-02

Table 2. The 50 largest jail jurisdictions: Number of inmate deaths and suicides 

and mortality rates per 100,000 inmates, 2000-02
During 2002 the Nation's smallest

jails had a suicide rate 5 times 

that of the largest jails 

On an average day in 2002, over 40%

of the nation's jails housed fewer than

50 inmates, while 2% of all jails held at

least 1,500 inmates. Rates of inmate

suicide were closely related to jail size,

with the smallest facilities recording the

highest suicide rates. 

The Nation's largest jail facilities

recorded the lowest suicide rates (32

per 100,000 inmates). The suicide rate

rose steadily as jail size decreased and

was over 5 times higher (177 per

100,000) in jails holding fewer than 50

inmates. However, given their small

populations, these jails accounted for

14% of all jail suicides.

Jail suicide rates drop by over 90%

when based on "at-risk" population 

BJS has usually based jail mortality

rates on the average daily population 

of inmates (an ADP of under 700,000).

A more sensitive measure of jail

mortality would reflect the far larger

number of persons admitted into these

facilities over the entire year (nearly 13

million). All of these persons admitted

are at risk of dying while held in jail. 

Past attempts to collect admission data

for a whole year were unsuccessful,

because many jail information systems

do not keep cumulative counts of

admissions. As part of the new Deaths

in Custody records, BJS collected

annual admission data, which can be

used to calculate an at-risk measure of

mortality for the Nation's largest jails.

While the 50 jurisdictions had an

average daily population of 207,471

over the 3-year period, these same

jails had an average of 2,827,133

admissions each year. As a result, the

at-risk mortality rates of these jurisdictions are far lower. The ADP rate of

overall mortality in the top 50 jurisdictions (167 per 100,000) was 15 times

the at-risk rate (11). The ADP-based

suicide rate for these 50 jurisdictions

(29 per 100,000) was 14 times the

at-risk suicide rate for these facilities 

(2 per 100,000).

Males and white inmates had the

highest rates of suicide in jails

Among local jail inmates, mortality

rates varied across demographic

subgroups (table 3). In terms of deaths

from all causes, male inmates had a

higher death rate (150 per 100,000

inmates) than females (130). Gender

was a stronger factor in suicide rates:

males (50 per 100,000) were 56%

more likely to commit suicide than

female jail inmates (32). The homicide

rate of male jail inmates was low (3 per

100,000) and female inmates did not

experience a single homicide during

2000-02. 

The most common cause of death

among jail inmates was illness (48% 

of all jail deaths during 2000-02). As a

result, the overall mortality rates of jail

inmates steadily rose with age. Among

jail inmates age 18-24, the mortality

rate was 60 per 100,000; this rate was

3 times higher for inmates age 35-44

(179), and over 11 times higher for

inmates age 55 or older (694). The only

exception to this pattern was the death

rate of jail inmates under age 18 (138

per 100,000), who made up less than

2% of all jail deaths.

Jail suicide rates also increased with

inmate age. Inmates age 18-24 were

the least likely to commit suicide (38

suicides per 100,000 inmates); this rate

increased 24% for inmates age 25-34

(47), and 39% for inmates age 35-44

(53). The oldest inmates, age 55 or

older, had the highest rate of suicide

(58 per 100,000) among adult inmates.

The youngest jail inmates were the

exception to this pattern; jail inmates

under 18 had the highest suicide rate in

local jails (101 per 100,000). Given

their relatively small numbers, inmates

under the age of 18 committed 35 of

the 918 jail suicides recorded nationwide over 3 years. 

 Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails 5

Note: Mortality rates are based on average daily

population (ADP) during the calendar year; table

excludes 47 jail facilities, which did not report

valid ADP data.

2,000 or more 173 32

1,500-1,999 150 32

1,000-1,499 133 43

500-999 102 33

250-499 124 53

150-249 107 48

100-149 120 50

50-99 159 77

Fewer than 50 313 177

Total 147 47

inmates in jail All causes Suicide

Local jail mortality rate,

Number of per 100,000 inmates, 2002

Note: Jail inmate mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held, based on average daily

population (ADP). Inmate populations of various demographic subgroups are estimates

based on the Annual Survey of Jails and the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails. State

prison rates are per 100,000 inmates held in custody on June 30. Prisoner demographic 

subgroups are estimates based on the June 30 National Prisoner Statistics custody counts 

and demographic data from the National Corrections Reporting Program.

Hispanic 98 30 3 243 18 7

Black, non-Hispanic 118 16 3 207 8 2

White, non-Hispanic 219 96 3 327 22 5

Race/Hispanic origin

55 or older 694 58 0 2,019 13 4

45-54 349 52 7 571 13 3

35-44 179 53 4 182 14 4

25-34 99 47 2 63 14 3

18-24 60 38 3 34 14 3

Under 18 138 101 0 52 52 0

Age

Female 130 32 0 140 10 0

Male 150 50 3 251 14 4

Gender

All inmates 148 48 3 244 14 4

Characteristic All causes Suicide Homicide All causes Suicide Homicide

Local jail inmates, 2000-02 State prison inmates, 2001-02

Average annual mortality rate, per 100,000 inmates

Table 3. Local jail and State prison inmate mortality rates, 

per 100,000 inmates, by selected characteristics
Inmate age did not have any clear

relationship to jail homicide rates,

which were no higher than 7 per

100,000 inmates for all age groups.

Both the youngest (under 18) and

oldest (55 or older) inmates had no

homicide deaths during 2000-02. 

White jail inmates 6 times more

likely to commit suicide than black

inmates and 3 times more likely 

than Hispanic inmates

Mortality rates displayed substantial

differences by race and ethnicity. Death

rates from all causes for both

black (118 per 100,000 inmates) and

Hispanic (98) jail inmates were at least

20% below the overall jail inmate

mortality rate (148). But the death rate

of white jail inmates (219 per 100,000)

was 86% higher than that of black

inmates and over twice as high as the

rate for Hispanic inmates. 

Differences across racial/ethnic

categories were more pronounced in

jail inmate suicide rates. The suicide

rate of white jail inmates (96 per

100,000 inmates) was more than triple

that of Hispanic inmates (30) and

was 6 times the suicide rate for black

inmates (16). White inmates accounted

for nearly three-quarters of all jail

inmate suicides during 2000-02.

Unlike the overall mortality and suicide

rates, homicide rates were not related

to race/ethnicity. White, black and

Hispanic jail inmates were all equally

likely to be victims of a homicide 

(3 deaths per 100,000 inmates).

State prisoners age 45 or older

made up 17% of inmates but 66% 

of deaths

Just as in local jails, male State prisoners had higher overall mortality rates

than female prisoners. While this difference was modest in local jails (the

male death rate was 15% higher),

males (251 deaths per 100,000 prisoners) were 79% more likely than

females (140) to die in State prison

during 2001-02. 

In contrast, male and female suicide

rates in State prisons were similar (14

suicides per 100,000 males, compared

to 10 per 100,000 females). In local

jails men were over 50% more likely

than women to commit suicide. 

The increase in mortality rates seen in

older jail inmates was also evident

among older State prisoners. The

overall death rate was lowest for State

prisoners age 18-24 (34 per 100,000).

The death rate was over 5 times higher

for State prisoners age 35-44 (182) and

nearly 17 times higher for prisoners

age 45-54 (571). The mortality rate of

the oldest prisoners, age 55 or older,

was highest (2,019 – or 59 times

higher than the rate for prisoners age

18-24).

Deaths attributed to "illness/natural

cause" made up 80% of all State 

prison deaths reported during 2001-02.

Two-thirds of all State prison deaths

involved inmates age 45 or older,

though such inmates represented 17%

of all State prisoners held during

2001-02.

Despite the close relationship between

age and the overall mortality rates in

State prison, inmate age was not

related to suicide rates. State prisoner

suicide rates ranged from 13 to 14

suicides per 100,000 prisoners for

every age group over 18. The suicide

rate of State prisoners under 18 was 4

times higher (52 per 100,000), but this

age group accounted for less than

0.3% of State prisoners and had 3

suicides nationwide over 2 years. By

comparison, 116 prisoners age 25-34

committed suicide during 2001-02. 

Age also showed no relationship to

State prison homicide rates, with all

age groups over age 18 recording a

homicide rate of either 3 or 4 per

100,000 inmates. No reported

homicides involved State prisoners

under age 18 during 2001-02.

Black inmates had the lowest

suicide and homicide rates 

in State prisons

As in local jails, white inmates had the

highest overall mortality rate (327

deaths per 100,000 prisoners). While

the mortality rate of white jail inmates

was 86% higher than that of blacks and

123% higher than that of Hispanics, the

differences in State prison were

smaller. White State prisoners were

35% more likely than Hispanic inmates

(243 per 100,000) and 58% more likely

than black prisoners (207) to die during

2001-02. 

White inmates had the highest suicide

rate of all State prisoners (22 suicides

per 100,000 inmates). This rate was

22% higher than the Hispanic suicide

rate (18 per 100,000). By comparison,

white inmates in local jails were 3 times

more likely than Hispanics to commit

suicide. Black inmates had the lowest

suicide rate of all State prisoners (8 per

100,000). Blacks were about a third as

likely as whites to commit suicide in

State prison and less than half as likely

as Hispanics.

Homicide rates were less than 10 per

100,000 State prisoners for all

racial/ethnic groups during 2001-02. 

Hispanic inmates were the most likely

to be killed in State prisons (7 homicides per 100,000 inmates), which was

over 3 times the homicide rate of black

inmates (2 per 100,000). The homicide

rate for white inmates (5) almost

matched the rate for all State prisoners

(4). 

6 Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails

*Excludes 9 jail inmates and 6 State prisoners

whose ages were not reported.

55 or older 291 2,027

45-54 667 1,809

35-44 896 1,323

25-34 609 507

18-24 323 149

Under 18 48 3

All inmates* 2,834 5,818

State prisons,

2001-02

Local jails,

Inmate age 2000-02

Number of inmate deaths
Violent offenders committed suicide

at nearly triple the rate of nonviolent

offenders in jails

The death rate of violent offenders in

local jails (212 per 100,000) was 75%

higher than that of nonviolent offenders

(121), but this difference was larger in

cases of suicide (table 4). 

The suicide rate of violent jail inmates

(92 per 100,000) was nearly triple that

of nonviolent offenders (31). Kidnaping

offenders had the highest suicide rate

(275), followed by those inmates held

for rape (252) or homicide (182). 

Among all nonviolent offenders, only

probation/parole violators had a suicide

rate of at least 100 per 100,000 (118).

Drug offenders were found to have the

lowest rates of mortality, particularly

suicide. Drug offenders were the only 

group that had fewer than 100 deaths

from all causes per 100,000 jail

inmates (92). The suicide rate of drug

offenders (18 per 100,000) was the

lowest among offender groups. Violent

offenders (92) were 5 times more likely

to commit suicide than drug offenders,

and public-order offenders were more

than twice as likely to commit suicide

(42). 

Local jails had an average of fewer

than 20 inmate homicides each year

Over 3 years (2000-02), there were 59

jail inmate homicides reported nationwide, resulting in a rate of 3 jail inmate

homicide deaths per 100,000 inmates.

Violent offenders were the most likely

to be killed in local jail (5 homicides per

100,000 inmates), followed by property

and public-order offenders (3 for both).

Drug offenders (1 per 100,000) had the

lowest homicide victimization rate of all

offenders.

Kidnaping offenders had the highest

rate of jail inmate homicide (15 per

100,000 inmates — 5 times the rate for

all inmates), followed by inmates held

for rape (9) and violation of parole/

probation (7). But even among these

offenders with the highest homicide

rates, a combined total of eight

homicides took place nationwide 

over this 3-year period. 

 Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails 7

*Excludes offenders with “other/unspecified”

current offenses. 

Nonviolent* 121 31 2

Violent 212 92 5

All causes Suicide Homicide

Average annual mortality

rate, per 100,000 local

jail inmates, 2000-02

Current offense

c

Includes drunkenness, vagrancy, disorderly

conduct, unlawful assembly, morals, and

commercialized vice.

d

Includes parole or probation violations,

escape, AWOL, and flight to avoid prosecution.

Note: All mortality rates were calculated using

average daily population counts from the Annual

Survey of Jails and offense distribution

estimates from the Survey of Inmates in Local

Jails, 2002. 

a

Includes murder and manslaughter.

b

Includes driving while intoxicated and driving

under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

249 66 4 448 118 7

Violation of parole/

probationd

Drunkenness/morals 92 23 1 282 71 3 c

Driving while intoxicated 113 22 1 92 18 1 b

Traffic 86 23 1 121 32 1

Obstruction of justice 144 40 4 192 54 5

Weapons 35 13 1 91 34 3

Public-order offenses 765 200 12 160 42 3

Trafficking 184 34 4 79 15 2

Possession 197 43 3 95 21 1

Drug offenses 434 85 7 92 18 1

Fraud 91 28 3 97 30 3

Arson 12 4 0 208 70 0

Larceny/theft 148 36 4 110 27 3

Burglary 139 58 4 108 45 3

Property offenses 530 164 16 113 35 3

Assault 377 144 14 168 64 6

Robbery 130 48 3 121 44 3

Other sexual assault 122 51 0 227 95 0

Rape 56 29 1 489 252 9

Kidnaping 54 37 2 401 275 15

Homicide 162 87 3 338 182 6 a

Violent offenses 1,026 447 24 212 92 5

All offenses 2,843 918 59 148 48 3

Current offense All causes Suicide Homicide All causes Suicide Homicide

Average annual mortality rate, per

100,000 local jail inmates, 2000-02

Number of local jail

inmate deaths, 2000-02

Table 4. Average annual jail inmate mortality rates, 

by most serious current offense, 2000-02
Drug offenders had the lowest

suicide and homicide rates of all

State prisoners 

State prison mortality rates showed

similar patterns by offense type (table

5). Violent offenders not only had the

highest overall mortality rate (312

deaths per 100,000 prisoners), they

were the only State prisoners with a

death rate of at least 200 per 100,000

prisoners held. Property and publicorder offenders each had a rate of 184

deaths per 100,000, followed by drug

offenders (166).

Compared to violent offenders in local

jails (92 suicides per 100,000 inmates),

the suicide rate of violent offenders in

State prison (19 per 100,000) was

much lower. But among State prisoners, violent offenders were more than

twice as likely to commit suicide as 

nonviolent offenders (9 per 100,000).

Kidnapers had the highest suicide rate

(36 per 100,000 prisoners), followed by

offenders held for homicide (29),

sexual assault (23), and assault (20).

Among nonviolent offenders,

probation/parole violators had the

highest suicide rates (18 per 100,000),

followed by offenders held for arson

(16), burglary (14), and obstruction of

justice (14). Drug offenders recorded

the lowest suicide rates of all State

prisoners (6 per 100,000 inmates).

The rate of homicide in State prison

was 4 per 100,000 prisoners, and

varied little across offense types.

Three types of offenders had as many

as 10 homicides per 100,000 prisoners — arsonists (16), kidnapers (15),

and probation/parole violators (12).

Among these three categories with the

highest homicide rates, the number of

homicides was small, with a total of

nine prisoners killed over 2 years.

State prisoners convicted of fraud and

driving while intoxicated had the lowest

rate of homicide, with zero homicides

reported for 2001-02. 

 

Nearly half of jail suicides occurred

in the first week of custody

Jail inmate suicides were heavily

concentrated in the first week spent in

custody. Forty-eight percent of all jail

suicides during 2000-02 took place

during the inmate's first week following

admission. In particular, almost a

quarter of all jail suicides took place

either on the date of admission to jail

(14%) or the following day (9%).

The frequency of jail suicides slowed

after the initial week, with the second

week of custody accounting for 10% of

jail suicides. The next 2 weeks in

custody (days 15 to 30) accounted for

even fewer suicides (8%). Despite this

early concentration of suicides, more

suicides took place after the 60th day

in jail (24%) than during the first 2 days

(23%).

The median time served in jail prior to

committing suicide was just over 1

week (9 days), but this period of time

varied across demographic and criminal offense categories (table 6).

Females spent less than half as much

time as males in jail prior to committing

suicide (median time served: 4 days for

females and 10 days for males). The

median length of time served by

Hispanic inmates prior to suicide (23

days) was over twice as long as the

time for white inmates (9 days) and

nearly 4 times longer than that for black

inmates (6 days). 

8 Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails

181 days or more 10.4

61-180 days 14.0

31-60 days 10.6

15-30 days 7.7

8-14 days 9.6

2-7 days 24.9

Next day 9.0

Same day 13.7%

Percent of jail inmate

suicides, 2000-02

Time served

after admission

b

Includes driving while intoxicated and

driving under the influence of drugs or 

alcohol.

c

Includes parole or probation violations,

escape, AWOL, and flight to avoid

prosecution.

Note: All mortality rates were calculated using June 30

custody prisoner counts from the National Prisoner

Statistics program and 2002 offense distribution

estimates from the National Corrections Reporting

Program.

a

Includes murder and manslaughter.

32 3 2 194 18 12

Violation of parole/

probationc

123 2 0 263 4 0

Driving while

intoxicatedb

Obstruction of justice 53 2 1 381 14 7

Weapons 36 2 1 67 4 2

Public-order offenses 319 13 4 184 7 2

Trafficking 485 21 6 188 8 2

Possession 278 10 5 224 8 4

Drug offenses 853 33 11 166 6 2

Fraud 128 6 0 209 10 0

Arson 35 2 2 277 16 16

Larceny/theft 199 10 4 209 10 4

Burglary 447 36 9 177 14 4

Property offenses 904 58 18 184 12 4

Assault 485 44 11 217 20 5

Robbery 552 28 11 171 9 3

Other sexual assault 803 36 8 523 23 5

Rape 344 14 1 299 12 1

Kidnaping 151 5 5 454 36 15

Homicide 1,295 89 16 417 29 5 a

Violent offenses 3,691 229 53 312 19 4

All offenses 5,824 337 87 244 14 4

Current offense All causes Suicide Homicide All causes Suicide Homicide

Average annual mortality rate, per 

100,000 State prison inmates, 2001-02

Number of State prison

inmate deaths, 2001-02

Table 5. Average annual State prison inmate mortality rates, 

by most serious current offense, 2001-02
Of all offender groups, public-order

offenders spent the shortest time in

custody prior to committing suicide; half

of their suicides took place in the first 3

days of custody. Property and drug

offenders each had a median time

served of about a week (7 and 8 days,

respectively) prior to suicide. Violent

offenders spent the longest time in

custody prior to suicide; half of their

suicides took place after spending 

3 weeks in jail (20 days).

7% of State prison suicides took

place during the first month

In State prison, suicides were less

concentrated around admission. Sixtyfive percent of jail suicides occurred in

the first 30 days, but 7% of prison

suicides took place during the first

month. Most State prison suicides

(65%) took place after the inmate's first

year of confinement, and 33% took

place after the inmate had served 

at least 5 years in prison. 

The median time served in State prison

prior to a suicide (30 months) was over

100 times longer than in local jails (9

days). Male (30 months) and female

(29 months) State prisoners spent

almost identical amounts of time in

prison before committing suicide.

However, race was related to the

length of time served prior to suicide.

Half of all suicides by white inmates

occurred in the first 21 months of

custody, while the corresponding

figures for black (40 months) and

Hispanic inmates (49 months) were

twice as long.

Violent State prisoners spent more

time in custody prior to suicide than

other offenders (median time served

was 45 months). Drug offenders were

the only other offender group who 

served a median of at least a year in

State prison prior to their suicides (18

months), followed by property (10

months) and public-order offenders (9

months).

At least 80% of suicides in prison

and jail occurred in the inmate's

cell; time of day not a factor

The vast majority of both local jail

(80%) and State prison (87%) inmate

suicides took place within the inmate's

cell or room (table 7). Temporary

holding areas (lockups) were the next

most common location of suicide

events (10% in jails, 4% in prisons).

Common areas such as cafeterias,

libraries, and recreational areas were

the scene of very few suicides (6% in

jails, 3% in State prisons), as were

areas outside of the correctional facility

(2% of jail suicides, 3% percent of

prison suicides). 

Suicide events in both local jails and

State prisons showed little relationship

to the time of day. Aside from morning

hours (20% of jail suicides), the

frequency of suicides in other parts of

the day varied from 24% (during afternoon hours) to 28% (evening and

overnight hours). Similar data were

reported for suicides in State prisons.

Twenty percent of State prisoner

suicides took place in the morning, with

all other times of day varying from 25%

(evening and overnight hours) to 30%

(afternoon hours). 

In both local jails (94%) and State

prisons (89%), the majority of suicide

events were followed up by the

performance of an autopsy or postmortem examination by a medical

examiner or county coroner. 

 Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails 9

120 months or more 14.3

60-119 months 18.5

24-59 months 21.4

12-23 months 11.0

6-11 months 12.5

1-5 months 14.9

Less than 1 month 7.4%

Percent of State prisoner

suicides, 2001-02

Time served

since admission

*The median time served is that length of time at which half of the

inmates spent less time in custody, and the other half spent more.

Public-order 3 9

Drug 8 18

Property 7 10

Violent 20 days 45 months

Current offense

Hispanic 23 49

Black, non-Hispanic 6 40

White, non-Hispanic 9 days 21 months

Race/Hispanic origin

Female 4 29

Male 10 days 30 months

Gender

All inmates 9 days 30 months

State prisoner

suicides, 2001-02

Local jail inmate

Characteristic suicides, 2000-02

Median time served since admission*

Table 6. Time served since admission by jail inmates 

and State prisoners committing suicide, by selected

characteristics

a

Includes cafeteria, exercise yard, library, day room, recreational

area, and workshops.

b

Includes inmates on work details or work release, under community

supervision by the jail/prison, or in transit to/from the facility.

c

Time of day was not reported for 12 jail and 41 prison suicides; 

location was not reported for 6 jail and 39 prison suicides.

Number of suicides 918 337 c

Elsewhere 1.1 3.4

Outside of the facility 2.3 3.0 b

Common area 6.1 3.0 a

Temporary holding area 9.6 4.0

Inmate’s cell/room 80.8% 86.6%

Location of suicide event

Evening (6 p.m.-midnight) 28.4 25.0

Afternoon (noon-6 p.m.) 24.1 30.4

Morning (6 a.m.-noon) 19.5 19.9

Overnight (midnight-6 a.m.) 28.0% 24.7%

Time of day

State prisoners,

2001-02

Local jail inmates,

2000-02

Percent of inmate suicides

Table 7. Time of day and location of suicide events 

in local jails and State prisons
Most jail homicides occurred at

least 2 weeks after admission

During 2000-02 the number of

homicides in the more than 3,000 jail

jurisdictions nationwide had an average

of fewer than 20 each year. In State

prisons, which held nearly 1.2 million

inmates nationwide, there were fewer

than 50 homicides each year during

2001-02. 

These homicide counts resulted in a

rate of less than 5 homicides per 

100,000 inmates in both State prison 

(4 per 100,000) and local jail (3 per

100,000 inmates, based on ADP). In

the 50 largest jails nationwide, the

at-risk rate of homicide averaged 0.4

per 100,000 inmates held during the

year. 

Unlike suicides, homicides in local jails

were not concentrated in the first few

days following admission. Twelve

percent occurred in the first 2 days in

custody, but 54% took place after the

inmate had served at least 2 weeks in

jail. The median length of time served

prior to a homicide death (29 days) was

triple that of suicide deaths in local jails

(9 days).

Two-thirds of homicide victims 

in State prison had served at least 

2 years in prison; nearly 40% had

served 5 years or more

The initial months following admission

to prison accounted for a small percentage of State prisoner homicides

(table 8). One percent of prison

homicides took place during the

victim's first month in prison, and less

than a tenth of homicide victims had

served fewer than 6 months (8%). A

fifth of homicides involved State prisoners who had served less than a year. 

 

Among the 5,824 total prisoner deaths

reported nationwide during 2001-02,

fewer than 20 were homicides of a firstyear inmate. Sixty-seven percent of

State prison homicide victims had

spent at least 2 years in prison, while

37% had served at least 5 years. 

The median time served in State prison

by homicide victims was 44 months.

Hispanic homicide victims (with a

median time served of 22 months)

were killed after serving less than half

as much time as white (46 months) or

black (55 months) prisoners.

Public-order offenders were the most

likely to be killed early in their prison

terms, with a median time served of

just under 2 years (23 months). The

median term served by both drug (40

months) and property (45 months)

offenders was about twice as high.

Violent offenders had the longest

amount of time served in prison prior 

to being killed, with a median term of

almost 5 years (55 months). 

Prison suicides took place almost

exclusively inside the deceased's cell

or room (87%); no other location

accounted for even 5% of suicide

events. However, over a quarter of all

prison homicides (29%) took place in

common areas within prisons, such as

cafeterias, libraries, workshops, and

recreational yards. A small percentage

of homicide events took place in either

a temporary holding area or a location 

outside of the prison facility (3% for

each). Prisoners' cells or rooms (61%)

were the most likely scene of a

homicide in State prison. 

State prison homicides were over 3

times more likely to occur during the

morning (39% of homicides) than

between midnight and 6 a.m. (11%).

Nearly all State prison homicides (92%)

resulted in an autopsy or post-mortem

exam of the deceased. All but 8 of 87

prisoner homicides during the 2-year

period were committed by other

inmates (91%). Of those "other

homicide" events, most involved

escape attempts or cases in which

assailant identity was not established.

10 Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails

181 days or more 15.8

61-180 days 14.0

31-60 days 14.0

15-30 days 10.5

8-14 days 15.8

2-7 days 17.5

Next day 7.0

Same day 5.3%

Percent of jail inmate

homicides, 2000-02

Time served

after admission

a

Includes cafeteria, exercise yard, library, day

room, recreational area, and workshops.

b

Includes inmates on work details or at work

release sites, under community supervision

by the prison, or in transit.

Elsewhere 5.3

Outside of the facility 2.6 b

Common area 28.9 a

Temporary holding area 2.6

Inmate’s cell/room 60.5%

Location of homicide event

Evening (6 p.m.-midnight) 21.4

Afternoon (noon-6 p.m.) 28.6

Morning (6 a.m.-noon) 38.6

Overnight (midnight-6 a.m.) 11.4%

Time of day

120 months or more 12.6

60-119 months 24.1

24-59 months 29.9

12-23 months 13.8

6-11 months 11.5

1-5 months 6.9

Less than 1 month 1.1%

Time served after admission

Percent of

State prison

homicides,

2001-02

Table 8. Time served, time of day, 

and location of homicide events in 

State prisons, 2001-02

Public-order 23

Drug 40

Property 45

Violent 55 months

Current offense

Hispanic 22

Black, non-Hispanic 55

White, non-Hispanic 46 months

Race/Hispanic

origin

All inmates 44 months

Median time served after

admission: State prisoner

Characteristic homicides, 2001-02
Homicide rate of U.S. residents,

when standardized, 10 times the 

rate of jail inmates in 2002

According to rates compiled by the

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC), the U.S. resident

population experienced 6 homicides

and 11 suicides per 100,000 residents 

(table 9). The homicide rates for both

State prisoners (4) and jail inmates (3)

were lower than that for the U.S.

population. Suicide rates for both State

prisoners (14) and jail inmates (47)

were higher than the rate for the

resident population. However, reliable

comparisons of such rates require

closer analysis.

The demographic compositions of

inmate populations do not reflect those

of the U.S. resident population. In 2002

the U.S. population was 51% female,

81% white, and 22% age 55 or older;

by comparison, the State prison

population was 6% female, 50% white,

and 4% age 55 or older. 

The suicide and homicide rates of

these demographic subgroups vary

substantially. For example, the

homicide rate of black males age 18-24

in the resident population (108 per

100,000) was over 8 times that

for white males of the same age (13).

As a result, the differing rates of death

seen in the general population and

correctional facilities reflect differences

in demographic makeup as much as

differences in the relative safety of

these environments.

To improve the comparison of mortality

risks, the resident population rates can

be standardized by age, race, and

gender to match the proportions seen

in prisons and jails. The resulting rates

estimate what the resident population

mortality rates would be if the U.S.

resident population had the same

demographic composition as prisons

and jails. 

Standardized to match the State prison

population, the resident population 

had a homicide rate (35 per 100,000)

nearly 9 times the rate of homicide in 

State prisons (4). Standardizing to

match local jail demographics yields a

greater difference the resident rate 

(32 per 100,000) being nearly 11 times

higher than the rate in jails (3).

State prisoners had a higher rate of

suicide (14 per 100,000) than the

overall resident population (11). Once

standardized to match the State

prisoner population, the U.S. resident

rate of suicide (18) exceeded that of

State prisoners in 2002. 

The standardized resident suicide rate

(17 per 100,000) was less than half of

the jail suicide rate based on ADP (47).

However, an at-risk rate of jail suicide

would be a more appropriate comparison, but not all jails reported the

needed admission data. Based on the

at-risk measure of suicide for the top

50 jail jurisdictions, an at-risk jail

suicide rate for all jails would likely be

less than a tenth of the ADP measure.

(See page 5.)

Methodology

BJS phased in data collection activity

under the Death in Custody Reporting

Act of 2000 (PL 106-297), with the first

collection of death records covering

only local jail facilities. The 2000 jail

collection covered the entire calendar

year (the act became law in October of

2000), while subsequent collections

were done on the quarterly basis

required by the act. 

BJS requires a quarterly report from all

jails which had an inmate death during

the period. All jails were instructed to

complete an annual summary of death

reports and population counts (to allow

for calculation of death rates). 

Jail response rates for all 3 years were

over 99%. In 2000, 3,063 jurisdictions

responded, and 9 refused, for a

response rate of 99.7%. Data for 2001

was submitted by 3,049 jurisdictions,

with 2 refusals, for a response rate of

99.9%. In 2002, data were submitted

by 3,030 jurisdictions and refused by 6,

for a response rate of 99.8%.

Quarterly collection of State prison

inmate death records began in 2001.

These records were collected from

State departments of corrections,

rather than from each prison facility.

For all years, BJS has had 100%

participation from all 50 State prison

systems. Data were also collected from

the District of Columbia for 2001 in

which it still operated a prison system,

prior to transferring sentenced felons to

the custody of the Federal Bureau of

Prisons. 

Copies of all questionnaires collected

under the Deaths in Custody series can

be found on the BJS website at

<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/quest.

htm>.

Standardized U.S. resident death rates

Homicide and suicide rates for specific

age, race, and gender groups within

the U.S. population can be queried

from the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention's online injury mortality

reports <http://webappa.cdc.gov/

sasweb/ncipc/mortrate.html>.

 Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails 11

Note: U.S. resident population mortality rates are taken from the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention’s injury mortality reports <http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate.html>. BJS

standardized those rates by age, race, and gender to match the characteristics of the State 

prison and local jail inmate populations.

a

State prisoner rates of suicide and homicide are based on June 30 custody population.

b

Local jail inmate rates of suicide and homicide are based on average daily population (ADP).

Homicide 6 35 4 32 3

Suicide 11 18 14 17 47

Local jail

inmate rateb

Standardized

U.S. resident rate

State 

prisoner ratea

Standardized

U.S. resident rate

U.S. resident

population rate

Cause 

of death

State prisons Local jails

Deaths per 100,000 residents, 2002

Table 9. Mortality rates of U.S. resident population and State prison and 

local jail inmate populations, per 100,000 residents, 2002
For example, the 2002 suicide rate for

white females, age 35-44, was 7.8

per 100,000. These rates were then

standardized to match the characteristics of State prison and local jail

populations by weighting the rates by

the proportion of all inmates represented by that subgroup. The sum of

all of the weighted subgroup rates

provides the standardized rate for the

resident population.

Population proportions for these

gender, race and age subgroups of

inmates were derived from the

National Corrections Reporting

Program (for State prisoners) and the

2002 Survey of Inmates in Local

Jails (for jail inmates).

Population bases for mortality rates

Annual mortality rates were based on

different population counts:

1. For prisons the custody population

on June 30 of each year

2. For local jails the average daily

population in each calendar year.

Estimates of the population at risk for

the largest jail jurisdictions combined

the population on January 1 and

admissions during the year.

12 Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is 

the statistical agency of the U.S.

Department of Justice. Lawrence 

A. Greenfeld is director.

Christopher J. Mumola wrote this

report, under the supervision of Allen

J. Beck. Doris J. James, Lauren E.

Glaze, and Rebecca L. Medway

verified the report, and Tom Hester

edited it.

Christopher J. Mumola, under the

supervision of Allen J. Beck, designed

the survey, developed the questionnaires, and monitored data collection

and data processing.

Data collection and processing of

State prison death records were

carried out by Lara Reynolds. Data

collection and processing of local jail

death records were carried out by

Pamela Butler, Margaret Ferguson,

Patricia Torreyson, and Pearl Chase,

under the supervision of Charlene

Sebold, Governments Division,

Census Bureau, U.S. Department of

Commerce. 

August 2005 NCJ 210036

Office of Justice Programs

Partnerships for Safer Communities

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov

Obtain the most recent counts of

inmate deaths from Key Facts at 

a Glance on the BJS Internet site:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

glance/shipj.htm