U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Bureau of Justice Statistics

July 2010, NCJ 222988

Highlights

SPECIAL REPORT

For a list of related publications go to http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/dcrp/dictabs.cfm.

Deaths in Custody Reporting Program

Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007

Margaret Noonan

BJS Statistician

total of 8,097 inmate deaths in local jails

were reported to the Deaths in Custody

Reporting Program (DCRP) from 2000 to

2007 (table 1). The program received data from at

least 99% of the roughly 3,000 jail jurisdictions each

year. Annually, more than 80% of the nation’s jails

reported no deaths in their custody. For the 8-year

period between 2000-2007, 42% of the jails

nationwide reported no deaths.

The number of deaths in local jails increased each

year, from 904 in 2000 to 1,102 in 2007. During the

same period, the growth in the average daily

population of jail inmates (31%) outpaced the

increase in inmate deaths (22%). This resulted in a

decline in the mortality rate of jail inmates—from

151 deaths per 100,000 inmates to 141 per 100,000

between 2000 and 2007 (figure 1). (See Methodology

for calculation of mortality rates).

• From 2000 through 2007, local jail administrators reported 

8,097 inmate deaths in custody. Deaths in jails increased each 

year, from 904 in 2000 to 1,102 in 2007.

• The mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates declined from 

151 deaths per 100,000 inmates to 141 per 100,000 between 

2000 and 2007, while the jail inmate population increased 31% 

from 597,226 to 782,595.

• Annually, more than 80% of the nation’s jails reported no 

deaths in their custody.

• Deaths from any illness, including AIDS, accounted for more 

than half (53%) of all deaths in local jails. 

• Heart disease was the leading cause among illness deaths in 

local jails (42%).

• Suicide was the single leading cause of unnatural deaths in 

local jails, accounting for 29% of all jail deaths between 2000 

and 2007, but the suicide rate declined from 48 to 36 deaths 

per 100,000 inmates.

• Between 2000 and 2007, the suicide rates were higher in small 

jails than large jails. In jails holding 50 or fewer inmates, the 

suicide rate was 167 per 100,000; in the largest jails, the suicide 

rate was 27 per 100,000 inmates.

• After adjusting for differences associated with the age, sex, 

race, and Hispanic origin, suicide was the only cause of death 

that occurred at a higher rate in local jails than in the U.S. general population. 

Figure 1. 

Mortality rate per 100,000 jail inmates and the average daily population, 2000–2007 A

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

0

40

80

120

160

Rate

Year

Mortality rate Average daily jail population (ADP )

ADP

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2 Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007

From 2000 to 2007, between 3,072 and 2,924 jail

jurisdictions, reported data to the DCRP (table 2).

In 2000, nearly 9 out of 10 jails (86%) reported zero

deaths. By 2007, 8 out of 10 jails (81%) of jails

reported zero deaths. For the eight-year period

between 2000 and 2007, about 8 in 10 jails (83%)

reported zero deaths. For the same period, about 1

in 10 jails (12%) reported a single death, and less

than 1 in 10 jails (5%) reported 2 or more deaths.

During this time, no more than 2% of jails reported

more than 3 deaths (appendix table 1).

Between 2000 and 2007, suicides were the 

leading cause of death, but suicide rates 

continued to decline

Suicide was the single leading cause of death in local

jails (29%), followed by deaths associated with heart

disease (22%), intoxication (7%), and AIDS-related

causes (5%) (figure 2). No other single known cause

of death, including accidents (3%) and homicides

(2%), accounted for at least 5% of deaths.

Collectively, deaths from any illness, such as heart

disease, AIDS, cancer, and liver disease, accounted

for the majority (53%) of jail deaths during 2000 to

2007. (See Methodology for a discussion on the

nature of illness deaths). 

Table 2. 

Number and percent of jail jurisdictions, by number of deaths reported each year, 2000-2007

Number reporting to the 

Deaths in Custody Reporting 

Program (DCRP)

Number of jail jurisdictions reporting deaths

 0 deaths 1 death 2 or more deaths

Year Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 

2000 3,072 2,631 86% 293 10% 148 5%

2001 3,052 2,562 84 334 11 156 5

2002 3,036 2,543 84 339 11 154 5

2003 3,019 2,498 83 362 12 159 5

2004 3,003 2,478 83 371 12 154 5

2005 2,977 2,447 82 368 12 162 5

2006 2,946 2,395 81 381 13 170 6

2007 2,924 2,378 81 363 12 183 6

Annual average

2000-2007 3,004 2,492 83% 351 12% 161 5%

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to rounding. See Methodology of this report for response rates. Declining number of 

jails is documented in Jail Inmates at Midyear, 2007, BJS Web, 6 June 2008.

Table 1. 

Number of deaths and mortality rate per 100,000 jail inmates, by cause, 2000–2007

Jail inmate deaths Average annual mortality rate 

All causes Number Percent per 100,000 jail inmates

Total 8,097 100 % 145

Suicide 2,361 29 % 42

Illness 4,281 53 % 77

Heart disease 1,788 22 32

AIDS 410 5 7

Cancer 274 3 5

Liver disease 235 3 4

All other illnesses* 1,574 19 28

Drug/alcohol intoxication 566 7 % 10

Accident 229 3 % 4

Homicide 171 2 % 3

Other/unknown 489 6 % 8

Note: Mortality rates are based on average daily population as reported to the Deaths in 

Custody Reporting Program.

*Includes other specified (such as influenza, septicemia, diabetes, and hepatitis) and unspecified or 

unknown illnesses. See appendix tables 2 and 3 of this report for a list of the more than 50 illnesses 

reported to the program. See Methodology for details on illness classifications.
July 2010 3

While suicide has been the leading cause of death in

local jails since the 1980s, it has declined over time.

The suicide rate among jail inmates was 129 per

100,000 inmates in 1983, but 10 years later the rate

had declined by more than half to 54 per 100,000

inmates.1 From 2000 to 2007, the suicide rate

declined by about a quarter, from 48 to 36 suicide

deaths per 100,000 jail inmates. (table 3). 

Besides suicide, AIDS-related deaths were the only

other leading cause of death that declined among

jail inmates. Over the 8-year period, mortality due

to AIDS declined by 50%, from 10 to 5 deaths per

100,000 inmates. The mortality rates for deaths

from all other leading causes of illness in jails

during this time period showed little variation. 

Deaths due to accidents (4 per 100,000) and

homicides (3 per 100,000) also remained relatively

constant throughout 2000 to 2007. By comparison,

the mortality rate for intoxication nearly doubled

from 6 per 100,000 inmates in 2000 to 10 per

100,000 in 2007.

Ten types of medical conditions accounted for 

about 8 in 10 illness deaths in jail

Local jail administrators reported over 50 different

medical conditions that led to an inmate’s death

between 2000 and 2007. Of these 50 fatal medical

conditions, 10 accounted for 77% of all illness-related

deaths in local jails (appendix table 4). Heart disease

was the leading cause of illness-related deaths (42% of

illness deaths), and was reported at least 3 times as

frequently as any other death due to illness. Besides

heart disease and AIDS, no single medical cause of

death accounted for more than 5% of the illnessrelated deaths in jails between 2000 and 2007. 

Overall, 95% of deaths reported to DCRP during

the 8-year period indicated that an autopsy was

completed. A definitive cause of death could not be

determined for 6% (or 489) of deaths in local jails,

and an autopsy was conducted in the majority

(93%) of these unresolved cases (not shown in a

table). No additional information was provided in

about two-thirds of all undetermined deaths. In the

remaining cases, either the information given was

insufficient to determine the manner of death or the

autopsy was inconclusive. 

1

See Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails, BJS 

Web, 21 August 2005.

Table 3. 

Mortality rate per 100,000 jail inmates, by cause and year, 2000–2007

All causes 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Total 151 148 145 146 143 140 142 141

Suicide 48 49 47 43 42 38 36 36

Illness 86 77 76 75 74 67 79 78

Heart disease 33 34 33 35 32 27 32 30

AIDS 10 9 8 8 7 5 7 5

Cancer 5 4 6 545 5 5

Liver disease 4 4 4 454 3 5

All other illnesses* 34 25 26 23 27 26 31 32

Drug/alcohol intoxication 6 9 8 13 11 11 11 10

Accident 4 5 5 443 4 2

Homicide 3 3 3 233 5 3

Other/unknown 3 5 6 9 8 17 7 12

Note: Mortality rates are based on the average daily population as reported to the Deaths in 

Custody Reporting Program.

*Includes other specified (such as influenza, septicemia, diabetes, and hepatitis) and unspecified or 

unknown illnesses. See appendix tables 2 and 3 of this report for a list of the more than 50 illnesses 

reported to the program. See Methodology for details on illness classifications.

Figure 2. 

Top four causes of death in local jails, 2000-2007

Rate per 100,000 inmates

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Intoxication

AIDS

Heart disease

Suicide

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
4 Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007

Over half of deaths occurred within 1 month 

of admission

Nearly a quarter (24%) of deaths occurred within 2

days of admission (not shown in table). Overall,

more than a third (38%) of deaths took place within

the first 7 days (table 4). Over half (56%) of inmate

deaths occurred within 30 days of admission. 

The distribution of inmate deaths occurring in the

first month varied by cause. The majority of

suicides (64%), intoxication (80%), and accidental

deaths (62%) occurred in the first month. Deaths

due to other illness-related causes were more

frequently observed among inmates serving longer

sentences. Over a third of cancer deaths (36%) and

a fifth (21%) of AIDS-related deaths occurred more

than 180 days after admission.

The pattern of deaths since admission generally

corresponds with the length of stay in jail and

whether an inmate has been detained long enough

to be at risk of dying during a certain time period.

The number of deaths occurring within the first

month of admission generally corresponds with the

number of inmates who spend less than one month

in jail. The Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ) found local

jails admitted an estimated 13 million inmates

during the 12 months ending June 29, 2007, with an

estimated 80% (10.4 million) serving their time

within one month. Data from the 2004 Survey of

Large Jails (SLJ), which collected discharge data

from the largest jail jurisdictions (1,000 or more

inmates), found that more than two-thirds (46%) of

jail inmates were released within two days of

admission, and a majority (80%) served less than a

month (figure 3). Between 3 and 6% of jail inmates

served past day 31. While the survey was limited to

the largest jails, these facilities held more than half

of the U.S. jail inmate population (52%). These

facilities' turnover rates (54%) were half the

turnover rate for the smallest jails (110%). If the

sample included all jails, the inverse relationship

between expected length of stay and facility size

would likely increase the frequency of inmates

serving less than 30 days and reduce the pool of

inmates at risk of dying during lengthier stays.

Figure 3. 

Estimated distribution of time served by jail inmates, 2000-2007

Table 4. 

Distribution of deaths, by time served (days) since admission and cause of death, 2000-2007

Percent of jail deaths

Time served

Percent of jail 

discharges* All causes Suicide Illness

Heart 

disease AIDS Cancer

Liver 

disease

All other 

illnesses

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

7 or less days 62% 38% 47% 27% 32% 7% 4% 24% 31% 74% 51% 27%

8-30 days 18 18 16 21 21 20 12 18 22 7 11 25

31-60 days 6 11 11 13 13 13 14 16 12 3 8 10

61-120 days 6 13 11 15 13 23 18 18 14 5 10 16

121-180 days 3 7 5 9 8 16 16 9 8 3 5 8

More than 180 days 4 13 10 15 13 21 36 16 13 8 15 14

Note: Details may not sum to total due to rounding.

*The percent of jail discharges are based on unpublished BJS data from the 2004 Survey of Large Jails. See Methodology.

Jail discharges All causes Suicide Heart disease

80%

7%

6%

3%

4% 13% 10% 13%

7%

5%

8%

13%

10%

13%

11%

11%

13%

56%

64%

53%

More than 180 days

121-180 days

61-120 days

31-60 days

30 days or less
July 2010 5

Suicide rates in the nation’s smallest jails were 

6 times higher than in the largest facilities

Suicide rates were higher in smaller facilities than in

larger facilities. According to the 2005 Census of

Jails, large jails—holding an average daily

population (ADP) of 1,000 or more inmates—made

up about 6% of all jails, and in 2007 these jails held

52% of the nation's jail population. About 40% of all

jails held fewer than 50 inmates on an average day,

and in 2007 these jails held about 3% of all jail

inmates. The smallest jails had the highest average

annual suicide rate (167 per 100,000 inmates), while

the 50 largest jails had the lowest average annual

suicide rate (27 per 100,000 inmates) (table 5). 

The lower rate of suicide in large jails may reflect

the capacity of these jails to provide a variety of

suicide prevention measures. According to the most

recent data available in the 1999 Census of Jails,

over half (54%) of jails holding fewer than 50

inmates provided staff training in suicide

prevention, compared to 91% of the largest jails.

Fewer than half (41%) of the smallest jails provided

inmate counseling or psychiatric services, while

such services were provided by over 90% of the

largest facilities (table 6). Overall, the availability of

various suicide prevention measures increased with

facility size.

This comparatively high suicide rate may be due in

part to the high turnover rate and the resulting

shorter inmate stays in small facilities. 2

2

Turnover rate is calculated by taking the sum of admissions plus 

releases, and dividing by the average daily population. For more 

information on frequency of turnover, see Jail Inmates at Midyear 2007, BJS Web, 6 June 2008.

The mortality rate for jails holding more than 50

but fewer than 500 inmates decreased as facility size

increased. The mortality rate of facilities with an

ADP of fewer than 50 inmates (282 per 100,000)

was at least 1.5 times higher than that of any other

facility size category. Medium-sized jails, holding

between 100 and 499 inmates, had the lowest

overall mortality rate (114 and 115 per 100,000).

Larger jails (those holding more than 500 inmates)

generally had higher mortality rates from illness

deaths, such as AIDS, cancer, and liver disease.

Small jails, holding fewer than 50 inmates, had an

intoxication mortality rate (31 per 100,000) that was

three times higher than the 50 largest jails (8 per

100,000). Also, the smallest jails had the highest

accident mortality rate (11 per 100,000), and the

highest rate of deaths without a known cause (13

per 100,000). However, homicide rates were highest

in the 50 largest jails with 6 per 100,000 inmates,

compared to 1 per 100,000 for the smallest jails.

Table 5. 

Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 jail inmates, by cause of death and size of jail, 2000–2007

Size of jurisdiction

Average annual mortality 

rate, 2000–2007 Suicide

Heart 

disease AIDS Cancer

Liver 

disease

All other

illnesses*

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

Other/

unknown

All jails 145 42 32 7 5 4 28 10 4 3 8

Less than 50 inmates 282 167 33 1 1 2 22 31 11 1 13

50 to 99 158 69 33 1 1 3 18 17 6 2 8

100 to 249 115 49 22 1 1 1 16 12 3 2 7

250 to 499 114 44 25 1 2 3 19 10 3 1 6

500 to 999 119 37 28 4 4 3 22 7 3 2 8

1,000 or more (excluding 

50 largest jails) 140 33 33 11 5 5 28 10 4 2 9

50 largest jails 170 27 41 15 10 7 43 8 5 6 10

Note: Detail may not sum to total because some jails did not report an average daily population. The largest jails were the 50 largest jails as of June 30, 2006.

*Includes other specified (such as influenza, septicemia, diabetes, and hepatitis) and unspecified or unknown illnesses. See appendix tables 2 and 3 of this report 

for a list of the more than 50 illnesses reported to the program. See Methodology for details on illness classifications.

Table 6. 

Special inmate counseling and psychiatric services, by size of jail jurisdiction, 1999

Size of jail*

Service provided Less than 50 50 to 99 100 to 499 500 to 999 1,000 or more

Staff suicide riskassessment training

Yes 54.4 % 65.2 % 76.5 % 88.4 % 90.8 %

No 37.4 26.4 18.3 7.2 8.3

Don’t know 8.2 8.3 5.3 4.3 0.8

Counseling

Yes 41.1 % 62.1 % 74.2 % 89.9 % 93.3 %

No 50.6 29.6 20.5 5.8 5.8

Don’t know 8.2 8.3 5.3 4.3 0.8

Note: Data are the most recent available from the Census of Jails 1999, BJS Web, 1 September 

2001. Suicide prevention program items were not included in the more recent 2006 Census of 

Jails.

*Based on the average daily population (ADP) in 12 months ending June 30, 1999.
6 Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007

Despite the higher mortality rates experienced by

the nation’s smallest jails, these facilities accounted

for a small percentage of all jail deaths (7%) (table

7). Jails holding at least 1,000 inmates accounted for

4,240 (52%) of deaths reported over the 8-year

period. Between 2000 to 2007, with the exception of

one jail in 2002, no jails holding fewer than 500

inmates reported more than 3 deaths.

The 50 largest jail jurisdictions accounted for 

a third of all jail deaths in the United States

The 50 largest jails accounted for about a third of

the jail population in the United States and 35% of

all jail deaths. These large urban jails accounted for

about 60% of the jail deaths from cancer, AIDS, and

homicide. In contrast, 19% of jail suicides and 23%

of jail intoxication deaths occurred in the 50 largest

jurisdictions.

Heart disease was the leading cause of death in the

50 largest jail jurisdictions (41 per 100,000),

followed by suicide (27 per 100,000). For all other

jails, suicide was the leading cause of death,

followed by heart disease. The death rate from

AIDS in the 50 largest jails (15 per 100,000) was 7.5

times higher than the rate in jails holding less than

1,000 inmates (2 per 100,000) (not shown in a

table). The homicide rate in the 50 largest jails was 3

times that of all other jails. The rate of intoxication

deaths was 4 times higher in the smallest jails (31

per 100,000), compared to the 50 largest jails (8 per

100,000).

Table 7. 

Number of jail inmate deaths, by cause and size of jail jurisdiction, 2000–2007

Size of jurisdictiona

Total number of 

deaths, 2000-2007 Suicide

Heart 

disease AIDS Cancer

Liver 

disease

All other

illnessesb

Drug/alcohol

intoxication Accident Homicide

Other/

unknown

All deaths 8,097 2,361 1,788 410 274 235 1,574 566 229 171 489

Less than 50 inmates 555 332 66 2 2 5 42 59 21 2 24

50 to 99 512 224 108 2 2 8 60 55 19 8 26

100 to 249 855 362 163 11 9 8 121 88 25 13 55

250 to 499 873 335 194 11 17 23 145 74 22 6 46

500 to 999 1,060 335 250 33 32 31 192 65 28 21 73

1,000 or more (excluding 

50 largest jails) 1,399 324 328 104 49 50 286 96 37 24 101

50 largest jails 2,841 448 678 247 163 110 728 129 77 97 164

Note: Details may not sum to the total due to missing data.

a

Number of inmates is based on the average daily population (ADP) for the years 2002 through 2007. In 2000 and 2001, ADP was estimated by taking the average of 

January 1 and December 31 one-day inmate population counts.

bIncludes other specified (such as influenza, septicemia, diabetes, and hepatitis) and unspecified or unknown illnesses. See appendix tables 2 and 3 of this report for 

a list of the more than 50 illnesses reported to the program. See Methodology for details on illness classifications.
July 2010 7

Mortality differs among prison and jail populations

Local jails and state prisons differ in their general purposes,

populations housed, and terms of confinement.3 Jails are locally

operated facilities that confine persons before or after

adjudication. In addition to convicted inmates, jails also hold

inmates awaiting arraignment, trial, and conviction or

sentencing. The annual volume of admissions into jails is about

17 times the size of the jail population at midyear. The mean

time served in local jails is about 21 days. 

State prisons typically only house sentenced felons, with annual

admissions that amount to just over half of their yearend

population. In 2006 the mean time served by offenders released

from state prison was 32 months. 

As a result of the differences between jails and state prisons, the

number, rate, and pattern of deaths differed. Between 2001 and

2007, an average of 3,134 state prisoner deaths occurred each

year, compared to 1,028 jail inmate deaths each year (table 8).

3

For details on the differences between prison and jail populations, see page 6 of 

Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2000, BJS Web, 25 March 2001.

The overall mortality rate in state prisons (251 per 100,000

prisoners) was 1.7 times higher than that of local jails (144 per

100,000 inmates) for the same period.4

 In both jails (22%) and

state prisons (27%), heart disease accounted for about a quarter

of all deaths. The rate of heart disease deaths in state prisons (69

per 100,000) was twice that reported by local jails (32 per

100,000). 

In state prisons, cancer also accounted for a quarter of all deaths

(23%), while cancer accounted for 3% of jail fatalities. The

cancer mortality rate in state prison (58 per 100,000) was 12

times that observed in jails (5 per 100,000). The suicide

mortality rate in jails (42 per 100,000) was 2.6 times that in state

prisons (16 per 100,000).

4

The DCRP began collecting death data from state prisons starting in 2001. Prior 

to 2001, data was limited to counts of deaths by manner of death and sex. For more 

information, See Medical Causes of Death in State Prisons, 2001-2004, BJS Web, 21 

January 2007.

Table 8. 

Number and mortality rate per 100,000 state prison and jail inmate deaths, by cause, 2001–2007

All causes

Number of state prisoner 

deaths, 2001–2007

Average annual mortality 

rate per 100,000 state 

prisoners, 2001–2007

Number of jail inmate 

deaths, 2001–2007

Average annual mortality rate 

per 100,000 jail inmates 

Total 21,936 251 7,193 144

Illness 19,467 223 3,765 75

Heart disease 5,995 69 1,590 32

Cancer 5,098 58 243 5

AIDS 1,274 15 353 7

All liver diseases 2,227 26 211 4

All other illnesses 4,874 56 1,368 27

Suicide 1,386 16 2,072 42

Homicide 356 4 154 3

Drug/alcohol intoxication 254 3 529 11

Accident 208 2 204 4

Other/unknown 265 3 469 9

Note: Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2005, BJS Web, 10 December 2006. Mortality rates 

are based on average daily population as reported to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. Prisons began collection of death

records under the Deaths in Custody Reporting Act in 2001. See Methodology for more information. Prison mortality rates are based 

on a June 30 custody count. 
8 Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007

Mortality rate for males was slightly higher 

than females

Males were slightly more likely than females to die

in local jails. The mortality rate for males was 146

per 100,000 compared to 136 per 100,000 for female

jail inmates (table 9). Males (33 per 100,000) were

1.3 times more likely than females to die of heart

disease (25 per 100,000), while females were 1.4

times more likely to die from all other illnesses

(table 10) than males. Also, males (45 per 100,000)

were 1.6 times more likely to commit suicide than

females (28 per 100,000), and nearly half as likely as

females to die from intoxication (9 and 17 per

100,000, respectively). 

The overall mortality rate increased dramatically

with age, although older inmates accounted for a

small proportion of the total population. Inmates

age 55 and older accounted for 2% of jail inmates,

but 14% of jail deaths. The mortality rate of inmates

age 55 and older (893 per 100,000) was more than

twice the rate for inmates age 45 to 54 (383 per

100,000), and 10 times higher than the rate for

inmates age 25 to 34 (88 per 100,000), which was

the largest age group of inmates.5 AIDS and

intoxication were the only causes of death for which

inmates age 55 and older did not die at the highest

rate of all age groups.

5

See Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002, BJS Web, 18 July 2004, and Jail 

Inmates at Midyear 2007, BJS Web, 6 June 2008.

Table 9. 

Percent of the total jail population, percent of jail inmate deaths, and average annual mortality rate per 100,000 

jail inmates by selected inmate characteristics, 2000–2007

Characteristic Percent of total population Percent of deaths in jails Average annual mortality rate

Total 100 % 100 % 145

Sex

Male 88 % 89 % 146

Female 12 11 136

Race/Hispanic origin

White, non-Hispanic 44 % 52 % 172

Black, non-Hispanic 40 34 123

Hispanic 15 12 115

Other/multiple racea 2 2187

Age

Under 18 2 % 1 % 49

18-24 28 10 52

25-34 32 20 88

35-44 26 29 163

45-54 10 27 383

55 or older 2 14 893

Legal Status

Convicted 40 % 24 % 88

Unconvictedb 60 76 179

Offense

Violent 25 % 35 % 191

Property 24 19 106

Drugs 25 18 107

Public order 25 28 185

Note: Mortality rates are based on the average daily population (ADP). In 2000 and 2001, ADP was estimated by taking the average of January 1 and December 31 one-day inmate population counts. Inmate populations for age and offense 

are estimates based on the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails. Inmate populations for sex, race/Hispanic origin and legal status 

are estimates based on the 2000 through 2007 Annual Survey of Jails. Detail may not sum to total due to rounding.

a

Includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and persons of two or more races.

b

Includes inmates who were returned to jail on a probation or parole violation.
July 2010 9

Inmates age 45 or older died at a rate nearly 5 

times higher than younger inmates

The overall mortality rate of inmates age 45 and

older (475 per 100,000) was nearly 5 times that of

younger inmates (98 per 100,000). For all age

groups under 45 years old, suicide was the leading

cause of death. Older inmates were 9 times more

likely to die due to an illness. Specifically, older

inmates were 11 times more likely to die from heart

disease and 19 times more likely to die of cancer

than inmates younger than 45. Among causes

unrelated to illness, older inmates were between 1.5

times (suicide) and 2.9 times (accident) more likely

to die than younger inmates.

Hispanic inmates were less likely than whites 

or blacks to die in jail; blacks were less likely 

to commit suicide

White inmates, accounting for nearly half of all jail

inmates, died in local jails at a higher rate (172 per

100,000) than black (123 per 100,000) or Hispanic

inmates (115 per 100,000). Whites (68 per 100,000)

committed suicide at 4 times the rate of black

inmates (16 per 100,000) and twice the rate of

Hispanic inmates (34 per 100,000). Whites and

blacks died of heart disease at comparable rates (34

and 35 per 100,000, respectively). Each group was

nearly twice as likely as Hispanics (18 per 100,000)

to die of heart disease. 

Heart disease was the leading cause of death for

black inmates (35 per 100,000), and accounted for

more than twice as many deaths as suicide among

blacks (16 per 100,000). Blacks (13 per 100,000)

were 4 times as likely to die from AIDS-related

causes as white inmates (3 per 100,000) and about

twice as likely as Hispanic inmates (6 per 100,000).

Suicide was the single leading cause of death among

Hispanic inmates (34 per 100,000). 

Table 10. 

Mortality rate per 100,000 jail inmates, by selected inmate characteristics and leading cause of death, 2000–2007

Drug/alcohol 

Characteristic All causes All illnesses Heart disease AIDS Cancer All other illnesses intoxication a Suicide Accidental Homicide

Total 145 77 32 7 5 32 42 10 4 3

Sex

Male 146 76 33 7 5 31 45 9 4 3

Female 136 78 25 7 3 44 28 17 3 1

Race/Hispanic origin

White, non-Hispanic 172 73 34 3 5 31 68 14 6 3

Black, non-Hispanic 123 87 35 13 6 33 16 6 3 3

Hispanic 115 59 18 6 3 31 34 8 3 4

Age

Under 18 49 6 2 1 0 3 37 2 1 1

18-24 52 9 3 1 0 5 31 5 2 3

25-34 88 28 10 5 1 12 41 10 3 2

35-44 163 85 33 12 3 36 50 12 5 3

45-54 383 268 113 22 17 117 57 20 9 6

55 or older 893 731 358 20 86 267 71 14 12 9

Legal Status

Convicted 88 55 25 5 4 22 18 4 3 2

Unconvictedb 179 90 36 9 6 39 58 14 5 4

Note: Mortality rates are based on the average daily population (ADP). In 2000 and 2001, ADP was estimated by taking the average of January 1 and December 31 

one-day inmate population counts. Inmate populations for age and offense are estimates based on the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails. Inmate 

populations for sex, race/Hispanic origin and legal status are estimates based on the 2000 through 2007 Annual Survey of Jails. Detail may not sum to total due to 

rounding. All causes of death are included in the calculations of the total mortality rate.

a

Includes other specified (such as influenza, septicemia, diabetes, and hepatitis) and unspecified or unknown illnesses. See appendix tables 2 and 3 of this report 

for a list of the more than 50 illnesses reported to the program. See Methodology for details on illness classifications.

bIncludes inmates who were returned to jail on a probation or parole violation.
10 Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007

Violent offenders had the highest overall 

mortality, suicide and homicide rates 

Overall, violent offenders (191 per 100,000) and

public order offenders (152 deaths per 100,000)

were more likely to die in local jails than other

offenders (table 11). Violent offenders (80 per

100,000) and public-order offenders (35 per

100,000) were the most likely to commit suicide.

Specifically, offenders serving time for homicide,

kidnapping, and rape (200, 195, and 194 per

100,000, respectively) had the highest suicide rates.

Violent offenders also had the highest rates of

cancer and homicide mortality. In particular,

offenders serving time for homicide or kidnapping

were the most likely to be killed (13 per 100,000)

while in jail.

Property (106 per 100,000) and drug offenders (102

per 100,000) had the lowest overall mortality rates.

Drug offenders had the lowest mortality rates from

suicide (19 per 100,000) and homicide (1 per

100,000). 

Public-order offenders had the second highest

overall mortality rate (152 per 100,000), but the

mortality rate for most categories of public-order

offenders were below the overall average. The

mortality rate for public order offenders varied

from a high of 431 per 100,000 for probation/parole

violators to a low of 61 per 100,000 for offenders

held on weapons charges. The mortality rates for all

other public-order offenders were equal to or less

than 147 per 100,000. 

Table 11. 

Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 jail inmates, by most serious current offense and cause of death, 2000–2007

Current offensea All causes Suicide

Heart 

disease AIDS Cancer

Liver 

disease

All other 

illnesses

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

Other/

unknown

All offenses 145 42 32 7 5 4 28 10 4 3 8

Violent offenses 191 80 35 8 9 4 30 7 4 5 10

Homicideb 406 200 65 15 24 9 47 10 6 13 17

Kidnapping 284 195 31 0 5 0 23 0 3 13 15

Rape 392 194 67 18 21 3 47 8 3 3 26

Other sexual assault 244 90 58 5 25 4 43 3 1 2 13

Robbery 101 40 19 9 4 1 13 2 3 4 6

Assault 158 56 31 7 4 5 29 11 3 4 9

Property offenses 106 30 21 9 3 3 22 6 3 2 6

Burglary 112 38 17 13 4 2 21 5 2 2 8

Larceny/theft 138 34 33 10 4 5 31 7 3 3 8

Auto theft 44 14 7 4 2 0 8 7 1 2 0

Arson 233 94 36 18 0 7 48 0 12 0 18

Fraud 66 19 13 6 1 2 13 4 2 1 5

Stolen property 44 19 8 0 3 1 10 1 0 1 1

Drug offenses 102 19 23 7 3 4 25 12 3 1 5

Possession 162 29 34 11 6 5 39 22 4 3 8

Trafficking 49 9 12 4 2 2 12 4 2 0 2

Public order offenses 152 35 42 5 4 5 29 13 7 3 10

Weapons 61 20 16 2 1 2 5 4 4 2 5

Obstruction of justice 147 39 41 2 3 6 26 8 6 5 10

Trafficking 125 30 37 3 3 2 22 16 2 2 8

Driving while intoxicatedc 100 18 30 1 3 7 19 13 6 0 5

Public intoxication/moralsd 292 61 83 13 3 11 45 33 17 7 19

Violation of parole/probatione 431 94 114 23 13 10 99 23 16 10 29

a

Includes other offense categories not shown in detail.

bIncludes murder and manslaughter.

c

Includes driving while intoxicated and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

dIncludes public intoxication, vagrancy, disorderly conduct, unlawful assembly, morals, and commercialized vice.

e

Includes parole or probation violations, escape, AWOL, and flight to avoid prosecution.
July 2010 11

Leading causes of death in the jail population 

differed from the U.S. resident population 

Mortality in local jails differed from mortality in the

U.S. resident population in both prevalence and

leading causes of death. In the resident population,

heart disease was the leading cause and suicide was

the tenth leading cause of death between 2000 and

2006 (the most recent year finalized mortality data

were available) (table 12). By comparison, suicide

was the leading cause of jail deaths, followed by

heart disease (table 13). Among both jail inmates

Table 12. 

Average annual mortality rate, by the 15 leading causes of death in the U.S. general population by age, 2000–2006

Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 

U.S. residents, age 15-64, 2000–2006a Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, 2000–2006b

Totalc 15–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 Total 15–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64

Total 835 81 104 198 429 937 145 53 90 165 379 731

Diseases of heart 233 3 8 30 92 232 32 3 10 33 112 288

Malignant neoplasms 191 4 9 35 122 346 5 0 0 3 7 66

Cerebrovascular diseases 53 0.5 1 5 15 37 3 0 0 3 10 21

Chronic lower respiratory diseases 43 0.5 1 2 9 43 1 0 1 2 3 7

Accidentsd 38 37 32 37 39 32 4 2 3 5 10 13

Diabetes mellitus 25 0 2 5 14 38 1 0 1 1 4 3

Influenza and pneumonia 22 0 1 2 5 11 2 0 1 1 6 10

Alzheimer’s disease 21 * * * 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0

Nephritis 14 0 1 2 5 13 1 0 0 1 1 7

Suicide 11 10 13 15 16 13 43 32 42 50 55 69

Septicemia 11 0 1 2 5 13 1 0 0 2 6 9

Chronic liver disease, cirrhosis 9 0 1 7 18 23 2 0 0 2 11 14

Essential (primary) hypertension and 

hypertensive renal disease 70 0 1 3 6 0 0 0 0 1 3

Parkinson’s disease 6* * * 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

Homicide 6 13 12 7 5 3 3 3 2 3 6 9

Note: Age is limited to ages 15 to 64 because this range represents more than 99% of the jail population and 96% of all deaths in jails. The 15 leading causes of death are the 

most common causes of death in the U.S. resident population as determined by the Center for Disease Control's National 

Vital Statistics System. For more information, see <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/deaths.htm>. 

*Number does not meet standards of reliability or precision according to the Technical Notes of National Vital Statistic Reports Deaths: Final Data for 2006 <http://

www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf>. a

Source: Vital Statistics Cooperative Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

bThe general population and jail mortality rates were based on CDC classification for cause of death. As a result, the mortality rates for jail inmates in this table may differ 

from rates in other tables.

c

Includes all causes of death for all age groups.

dIncludes transportation and intoxication deaths. 

Table 13. 

Average annual mortality rate, by the 10 leading causes of death in jails, by age, 2000–2006

Mortality rate per 100,000 U.S. residents (by age) Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates

Cause of death Totala 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 Totala 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64

All causes 835 81 104 198 429 937 145 53 90 165 379 731

Illnessb ... ... ... ... ... ... 52 4 17 58 185 423

Heart disease 233 3 8 30 92 232 32 3 10 33 115 292

AIDS 5 0 4 12 11 5 8 1 5 13 21 19

Cancer 191 4 9 35 122 343 5 0 1 3 17 66

Liver diseases 9 0 1 7 18 23 4 0 0 5 22 24

Cerebrovascular diseases 53 0 1 5 15 36 3 0 1 3 10 21

Suicide 11 10 13 15 16 14 43 32 42 50 55 69

Drug/alcohol intoxication 7 5 9 14 13 5 10 5 10 11 21 13

Accidental 31 32 24 24 26 28 4 2 3 5 10 13

Homicide 6 13 12 7 5 3 3 3 2 3 6 9

Other/unknown ... ... ... ... ... ... 8 3 4 9 20 45

Note: Age is limited to ages 15 to 64 because this range represents more than 99% of the jail population and 96% of all deaths in jails.

a

Includes deaths for ages not shown in table. The detailed age categories is limited to ages 15 to 64 because this range represents more than 99% of the jail population 

and 96% of all deaths in jails. Source: Vital Statistics Cooperative Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

bTotal for the top 5 illness deaths in local jails.

...Not available.
12 Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007

and the U.S. resident population, the rates of heart

disease deaths increased with age. Similar rates of

death from heart disease were observed for persons

under 45 years old in both groups. Among persons

age 45 and older, the heart disease mortality rate in

jails was higher than in the resident population. 

Cancer was the fifth known leading cause of death

in jails, but the second leading cause of death in the

resident population. Across all age groups, death

rates from cancer in jails were consistently lower

than in the resident population. The largest

difference was observed among persons age 45 to

54. The U.S. resident population rate of cancer

deaths (122 per 100,000 residents) in this age group

was 7 times that of jail inmates (17 per 100,000

inmates).

Jail suicide rates are consistently higher than

suicide rates in the general U.S. population

Suicide rates for all age groups were at least 3 times

higher among local jail inmates than the general

population. The largest differences were seen

among persons age 55 and older. These jail inmates

had a rate of suicide (69 per 100,000 inmates) that

was 5 times higher than U.S. residents (14 per

100,000 residents). 

For violent deaths, such as suicide, specific data

collected by the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) allow for standardized

comparisons between jail and U.S. resident

mortality rates (table 14). Standardizing these rates

accounts for variations in the age, race, and sex

composition of the two groups. For example, males

make up 88% of jail inmates, but 49% of the adult

resident population. 

The jail population was adjusted through a direct

standardization so that it would reflect the

composition of the general population. For all

groups, the adjusted jail suicide rates remain

consistently higher than that of U.S. residents. The

standardized jail suicide rate was 4.4 times higher

than the suicide rate in the general population, and

the standardized jail suicide rate was higher for

both males and females. Males were 2.8 times more

likely to commit suicide in jail. White males (126

per 100,000) had the highest standardized jail

suicide rate, which was 5.7 times higher than the

suicide rate of white males in the general population

(22 per 100,000). The standardized suicide rate for

Hispanic males was about three times as high as the

general population. Black males in local jails had

the lowest standardized suicide rate (20 per

100,000), which was about 1.5 times higher than in

the general population (12 per 100,000 residents).

The suicide rate of females in jail was five 

times that of the suicide rate of females in the 

general population

Females account for 51% of the general population

and 12% of the jail population, so adjusting the jail

population to reflect the general population would

deflate the standardized suicide rate for females.

White females had the highest standardized jail

suicide rate at 45 per 100,000 inmates. The

standardized suicide rate for Hispanic females (21

per 100,000), but suicide among Hispanic females

in jail occurred 10.5 times more than in the general

population (2 per 100,000) post-standardization.

Blacks had the lowest standardized suicide rate

among females (7 per 100,000), but it was 3.5 times

higher than the suicide rate of black females (2 per

100,000) in the general population. 

The actual suicide rate in jail varies from the 

standardized jail suicide rate based on race 

and sex

Overall, the standardized jail suicide rate (57 per

100,000 inmates) was about about 1.5 times the

actual (observed) suicide rate (42 per 100,000

inmates) in jails. Female suicide rates in jails are

nearly equal regardless of the standardization, while

the male suicide rate is 1.3 times higher poststandardization. With the exception of whites, the

jail suicide rates both before and after

standardization show little variation. Among

females, the standardized suicide rate was lower for

every race or ethnic group.

Table 14. 

Suicide rates in U.S. population and local jails, by sex, 

race, and Hispanic origin, 2000–2006

Average annual suicide rate per 100,000

Jail inmates U.S. resident 

Unadjusted Age-adjusted population a

Allb 42 57 13

Maleb 45 59 21

White 83 126 22

Black 18 20 12

Hispanic 30 32 11

Femaleb 28 27 5

White 55 45 6

Black 97 2

Hispanic 26 21 2

a

Adjustment based on age distribution in U.S. resident 

population by sex, race, and Hispanic origin. See Methodology

for more information on calculation of age-adjusted rates.

b

Includes other racial groups not shown in detail.
July 2010 13

Methodology

Update to the Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2007 

Report

As part of data processing review, BJS and the

Census Bureau identified duplicate records by

providing jail reporting units, the entities that

submit records to BJS for the Deaths in Custody

Reporting Program (DCRP) with a summary

annual form at the close of a collection year to

record the total number of deaths occurring within

the jail facilities for which a reporting unit reported

deaths. BJS and Census Bureau staff compared the

aggregate count of individual death records

received to the annual summary number reported

by a jail reporting unit. If discrepancies were noted,

the reporting unit was contacted about it by either

BJS or Census Bureau staff and the discrepancy was

resolved. After the annual accounting, the dataset

containing the individual death records was again

reviewed to identify duplicates via a visual

inspection of names and dates. 

BJS' review of death records received between 2000

and 2007 initially excluded 51 deaths deemed to be

duplicates or out of scope. A death was out of scope

if the inmate was outside of the jail's jurisdiction

when he/she died. Inmates on escape status, out on

probation or parole or on home-electronic

monitoring were considered outside of the jail's

jurisdiction for the purposes of this collection, and

were therefore out of scope and excluded. A death

was a duplicate if the death had either been reported

by two different reporting units, one of which had

custody of the inmate at the time of death or if the

death had been reported to a different collection

within the DCRP. Deaths occurring in the process

of arrest were the most common example of a

duplicate death reported to a different DCRP

collection. Of these 51 exclusions, 34 records were

duplicates and 17 were out of scope. 

Two jail jurisdictions contacted BJS after the report

was released and asked for a review of their data.

BJS used this opportunity to do a stringent

assessment of the cases submitted by expanding the

duplication identifying code to include cases that

matched on state in which the death occurred; the

gender of the inmate; and the date of birth or date of

death of the inmate. Over a hundred potential

duplicates were identified, thirteen of which were

identified as true duplicates. 

The thirteen duplicate cases escaped detection

during the earlier quality control process because

the summary totals and number of death records

within each reporting unit matched, and the

information reported on names, admission date,

charges against the deceased, and facility holding

the inmate at death differed slightly between

reporting units that submitted the same death

records. Consequently, BJS efforts to match records

on these variables in order to identify duplicate

records did not flag these 13 records. 

The duplicate records reduced the total number of

deaths occurring in local jails during the 2000

through 2007 period to from 8,110 to 8,097. These

duplicate records were spread across the eight year

period. In 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2006, one duplicate

death was reported. In 2001 and 2005, two duplicate

deaths were reported, and 2004 five duplicate

deaths were reported. No duplicate deaths were

reported in 2003. 

These additional cases increased number of

exclusions to a total of 64 deaths. 

BJS anticipates there will be some level of

duplication as we advise respondents to report

deaths of uncertain eligibility with the assurance

that BJS will exclude ineligible cases. 

DCRP mortality data are always based on

information available to BJS at the time of

publication. If addition information about a death

occurring in custody comes to the attention of BJS,

we incorporate updates into the data. As a result,

findings may differ from earlier published reports.

Deaths in Custody Reporting Program

The local jail portion of the Deaths in Custody

Reporting Program began in 2000 after the passage

of the Deaths in Custody Reporting Act of 2000.

The Governments Division of the U.S. Census

Bureau, as an agent for BJS, collected facility-level

information, death counts, and information

surrounding the death from local jails. Data on

inmate deaths were requested at the end of each

calendar quarter. At yearend, jails submitted a

reconciled annual count that summed to the

quarterly count. Additionally, jail administrators

submitted data on inmate population and

admission counts, which were the basis for the

calculation of inmate mortality rates. 
14 Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007

Jail respondents were instructed to report the death

of any inmate in their custody, even if the inmate

was held for other jurisdictions. Respondents were

also instructed to include the death of any inmate in

transit or sent outside the jail facility for medical,

mental health, or substance abuse treatment

services. Inmates who died while on or traveling to

or from work-release programs were also included.

Deaths of jail inmates who were released on

temporary furloughs or who had escaped the jail

facility were excluded.

Medical cause of death information was collected

for illness deaths, but not for other manners of

death. The illness category is a heterogeneous

category for natural causes of death associated with

an underlying illness. Due to the variation within

the illness category, each illness death was discussed

in terms of the known medical cause of death as

determined by the autopsy. For each death marked

as illness/natural cause, respondents were directed

to specify a medical cause of death based on an

autopsy review, if available.

These text entries were later coded by clinical data

specialists according to the World Health

Organization's International Statistical

Classification of Diseases and Related Health

Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). BJS analysis of

causes of death used categories of disease published

by the National Center for Health Statistics

(NCHS). For this report, accidents, suicides, and

homicides were discussed in terms of cause of

death. While there is a clear distinction between

manner and cause of death from a medical-legal

standpoint, no such distinction was made in this

report. 

More information on state prison death data and

the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program is

available on the BJS Website at <http://

bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/

index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid=243#Methodology>. 

Average daily population used in calculating 

mortality rates 

Mortality rates were calculated as the number of

deaths per year divided by the annual average daily

population (ADP) of jail inmates and expressed in

terms of deaths per 100,000 jail inmates. The

measure of ADP was for the 12-month period

ending December 31. 

The ADP implicitly measures the number of jail

inmate days per year, thereby annualizing the

mortality rates. The ADP reflects the number of

admissions and their length of stay and can be

expressed as the product of the number of

admissions times mean length of stay. When mean

length of stay is expressed in years, the ADP is

equivalent to the number of person-years spent by

jail inmates during a given year. This allows for

reporting annualized mortality rates that are

comparable in concept to the annual mortality rates

reported by the National Center on Health

Statistics. NCHS calculates (crude) mortality rates

as the number of events for a period (e.g., year)

divided by the population estimated at the midpoint

of the period. For general population mortality

statistics the use of the population at the midpoint

of a year is employed as an approximation to the

average population exposed to risk of death during

the year. (See, e.g., Jacob S. Siegal and David

Swanson (2004). The Methods and Materials of

Demography, Second Edition, San Diego, CA:

Elsevier Academic Press, p. 269.) 

Because length of stay in jail is comparatively short

(i.e., about 21 days) the ADP is preferred over the

midyear jail population count in the estimation of

the average population exposed to risk of dying in

jail. The average daily population is an appropriate

measure because it is the closest measure of the

accepted epidemiology model of "person years," or

the number of years the person lives in the

population prior to death (Gaswirth, J.L. (2006)

"Case Comment-Buncher v. Brown County: the

need for an appropriate comparison of suicide

rates." Law, Probability and Risk (2005) 4, 257-263).

Unless otherwise specified, the jail mortality rate

was expressed in terms of the number of jail inmate

days throughout the report.

For 2000 and 2001, data on ADP were not collected

by the DCRP. To estimate each jail's ADP for these

two years, an average of the inmate custody

population on January 1st of the reference year and

on December 31st of the year was used. From 2002-

forward, the ADP was collected by the DCRP and

was as the estimate of the population at risk of dying

in jail. To estimate the ADP of the characteristics of

jail inmates-such as age, race, and genderpopulation proportions from BJS' 2002 Survey of

Inmates in Local Jails were generated and applied to

the average of each year's ADP. These were the most

recently available data for selected jail inmate

population characteristics nationwide. Data from

BJS' Annual Survey of Jails indicate that the

distribution of inmate characteristics such as

gender and race have changed slowly over time. See

Jail Inmates at Midyear 2008 - Statistical Tables, BJS

Web, 31 March 2009 for more information. Using

the 2002 inmate survey data to estimate the

distributions of inmate characteristics and applying

these distributions to the average ADP over the

period results in a reasonable estimate of the ADP

of inmate characteristics.
July 2010 15

U.S. resident population sources

The NCHS's vital statistics program provided the

U.S. resident population mortality data and rates

presented in this report. See the NCHS website for

mmortality data for the U.S. resident population at

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/deaths.htm>. The

Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Web-based

Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System was

the source for age-specific suicide data in the U.S.

resident population. See <http://www.cdc.gov/

injury/wisqars/index.html> for more information.

Medical cause of death in state prisons

2004 was the last year finalized clinical ICD data

was available for state prisons. ICD distributions

from 2001-2004 were applied to prison data

reported to the DCRP for 2005-2007. More

information on state prison death data and the

Deaths in Custody Reporting Program is available

on the BJS Website at <http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/

index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid=243#Methodology>. 

Discharge data

Inmates are typically discharged from jail through

bail, release by a court order, community

supervision, time served or death. Estimates of time

served by inmates discharged from jail are based on

unpublished BJS data. 

Direct standardization of suicide rates in jail and U.S. 

resident populations

The method of direct standardization was used to

compare suicide rates in the jail inmate population

with suicide rates in the general population.

Because the characteristics of the jail inmate

population differ from the characteristics of the

general population, and as some characteristics are

associated with suicide rates, a direct comparison of

the crude suicide mortality rates between jail

inmates and the general population can be

misleading. For example, in jails, older white males

are more likely to commit suicide than other

groups, but older white males comprise a smaller

fraction of the jail population than they comprise of

the general population.

In order to compare the jail and U.S. resident

population suicide rates, the differences in these

two populations' gender, race, and age distributions

were taken into account by method of direct

standardization. The jail population was adjusted to

the age distribution of the general population,

creating the standardized population; this was done

within race and gender groups. The age-specific jail

suicide rates were applied to the standardized

population to produce an estimate of the expected

number of suicides that would occur in jail if the

age distribution of the jail population were the same

as that of the general population. Again, this was

done within race and gender groups. The expected

numbers of suicides across age groups were

summed and the total divided by the ADP of jail

population to produce the standardized suicide

rates that were compared to the general population

rates.
16 Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007

Appendix Table 2. 

Number of jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000–2007 

Cause of death 2000–2007 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

 All causes 8,097 904 944 972 1,004 1,024 1,049 1,098 1,102

Suicide 2,361 289 314 314 296 299 286 278 285

Heart disease 1,788 198 216 221 241 227 203 250 232

Drug/alcohol intoxication 566 37 58 55 89 77 84 87 79

Illness, specific cause missinga 480 79 47 53 35 58 70 59 79

AIDS 410 57 59 51 54 52 40 54 43

Unknown/other cause 489 20 30 42 62 59 129 56 91

Accidental 229 25 35 35 28 32 24 32 18

Cancer 274 31 25 39 34 28 37 38 42

Liver disease 235 24 27 25 30 33 32 25 39

Homicide 171 17 19 18 15 24 22 36 20

Cebrovascular diseases 165 15 18 22 18 19 16 30 27

Respiratory diseasesb 129 19 10 12 12 20 14 16 26

Digestive diseasesc 125 15 16 8 12 16 14 22 22

Influenza/pneumonia 103 13 9 11 11 16 8 12 23

Chronic substance abused 84 3 10 14 7 11 9 17 13

Septicemia 84 14 9 11 12 5 6 16 11

Aortic aneurysm 52 4 5 7 6 6 7 8 9

Diabetes 48 4 3 5 6 6 10 7 7

Kidney disorders 39 3 1 7 7 4 7 8 2

Other central nervous system diseases 23 1 6 3 4 1 1 6 1

Inflammation of the central nervous system 22 2 2 1 3 5 0 5 4

Atherosclerosis 17 2 1 3 2 1 2 3 3

Episodic paroxysm 16 1 4 0 1 3 1 3 3

Viral hepatitis 16 1 3 0 1 1 6 2 3

Surgical complications 12 4 1 1 1 2 0 3 0

Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease 11 1 3 0 1 0 2 3 1

Benign neoplasm 10 1 1 0 2 1 2 1 2

Other bacterial 9 21 0 1 0 3 0 2

Congrenital malformation 8 21 2 1 1 1 0 0

Tuberculosis 7 11 0 1 1 2 1 0

Anemia 6 01 0 0 1 1 1 2

Mycoses 6 00 2 0 1 1 2 0

Pregnancy/birth 6 10 1 1 2 0 1 0

Soft tissue disorders 6 21 1 0 1 0 1 0

Disorders of veins/lymph nodes 5 00 1 0 1 0 2 1

Thyroid disorders 5 10 0 1 0 1 0 2

Blood disorders 4 00 1 1 0 0 0 2

Mental disorder 4 10 1 0 0 1 1 0

Metabolic disorders 4 20 0 1 0 0 1 0

Unspecified circulatory disorders 4 20 0 0 0 1 1 0

Appendicitis 3 12 0 0 0 0 0 0

Continued on the next page

Appendix Table 1. 

Number of reported deaths by size of jail jurisdiction, 2000–2007

Percent of unique 

facilities in all 8 years

Number of deaths reported by facilities reporting in all 8 years, by size of jail jurisdiction

Number of deaths Total Fewer than 50 50 to 99 250 to 499 250 to 499 500 to 999 1,000 or more

0 42 % 1,219 780 253 160 22 2 1

1 48 1,371 362 303 376 192 93 32

2 6 181 812 43 43 48 26

3 2 470 0 011 12 24

4 or more 2 58 0 0 0 1 354

Total 100 % 2,876 1,150 568 579 269 158 137

Note: Unique facilities are jail facilities or jurisdictions that reported in all 8 years of the reporting period. Detail may not sum to total due to 

missing cases.
July 2010 17

Appendix table 2 (cont.)

Number of jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000–2007

Cause of death 2000–2007 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Hernia 3 00 01 0 0 0 2

Other viral disorders 3 00 01 0 1 0 1

Arthritis 2 10 10 0 0 0 0

Endocrine disorders 2 00 11 0 0 0 0

Immune system disorders 2 00 10 1 0 0 0

Multiple sclerosis 2 01 00 1 0 0 0

Connective tissue disorder 2 00 01 0 1 0 0

Protozoal disorders 2 10 01 0 0 0 0

Other urinary tract disorders 2 01 01 0 0 0 0

Glucose disorders 2 00 00 0 0 1 1

Atrophy of the central nervous system 2 00 10 0 0 0 1

Infectious diseases, other 1 00 00 0 0 0 1

Nerve or nerve root disorders 1 00 00 0 0 0 1

Nutrition deficiencies 1 00 00 0 1 0 0

Obesity 1 00 00 0 0 1 0

Salmonella poisoning 1 00 00 0 0 1 0

Skin disorders 1 00 00 0 0 1 0

Spirochetal other 1 01 00 0 0 0 0

Viral infections of the central nervous system 1 00 00 0 0 0 1

Multiple illnessese 29 7 2 1 1 8 3 7 0

a

The manner of death was marked as “illness,” but a medical cause of death was not given.

b

Excludes influenza and pneumonia.

c

Excludes diseases of the liver.

dExcludes acute intoxication deaths.

e

Such cases included a text description of the illness, but the information was insufficient to classify the death to a single cause.

Appendix Table 3. 

Mortality rate of jail inmates, by cause of death, per 100,000 jail inmates 2000-2007

Average annual mortality 

rate per 100,000 jail 

inmates, 2000-2007

Mortality rate per 100,000 jail inmates

Cause of death 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

 All causes 145 151 148 145 146 143 140 142 141

Illness 77 86 77 76 75 74 67 79 78

Heart disease 32 33 34 33 35 32 27 32 30

AIDS 7 10 9 8 8 7 5 7 5

Cancer 5 546 5 4 5 5 5

Liver disease 4 444 4 5 4 3 5

Cebrovascular diseases 3 333 3 3 2 4 3

Respiratory diseasesa 2 322 2 3 2 2 3

Digestive diseasesb 2 331 2 2 2 3 3

Septicemia 2 212 2 1 1 2 1

Influenza/pneumonia 2 212 2 2 1 2 3

Aortic aneurysm 1 111 1 1 1 1 1

Chronic substance abusec 1 122 1 2 1 2 2

Diabetes mellitus 1 101 1 1 1 1 1

Kidney disease 1 101 1 1 1 1 0

All other illnessd 13 19 13 11 9 13 13 14 14

Suicide 42 48 49 47 43 42 38 36 36

Drug/alcohol intoxication 10 6 9 8 13 11 11 11 10

Accidental 4 455 4 4 3 4 2

Homicide 3 333 2 3 3 5 3

Unknown/other cause 8 356 9 8 17 712

Note: Mortality rates are based on the average daily population (ADP). In 2000 and 2001, ADP was estimated by taking the average of the 

January 1 and December 31 one-day inmate population counts. See appendix table 1 for the number of deaths by cause.

a

Excludes influenza and pneumonia.

bExcludes diseases of the liver.

c

Excludes acute intoxication deaths. 

dIncludes other specified and unspecified or unknown illnesses such as influenza, septicemia, diabetes, and hepatitis. See appendix tables 2 for a full display 

of the more than 50 illnesses reported to the program. Mortality rates for illnesses not shown were less than 1 per 100,000 jail inmates. 

See Methodology for details on illness classifications.
18 Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007

Appendix Table 4. 

Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause and year, 2000–2007

Cause of death

Number of deaths

2000-2007 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

All causes 8,097 904 944 972 1,004 1,024 1,049 1,098 1,102

Suicide 2,361 32.0 % 33.3 % 32.3 % 29.5 % 29.2 % 27.3 % 25.3 % 25.9 %

Illness 4,281 57.1 % 51.7 % 52.3 % 51.2 % 52.1 % 48.0 % 55.5 % 55.3 %

Heart disease 1,788 21.9 22.9 22.7 24.0 22.2 19.4 22.8 21.1

AIDS 410 6.3 6.3 5.2 5.4 5.1 3.8 4.9 3.9

Cancer 274 3.4 2.6 4.0 3.4 2.7 3.5 3.5 3.8

Liver disease 235 2.7 2.9 2.6 3.0 3.2 3.1 2.3 3.5

Cebrovascular diseases 165 1.7 1.9 2.3 1.8 1.9 1.5 2.7 2.5

Respiratory diseasesa 129 2.1 1.1 1.2 1.2 2.0 1.3 1.5 2.4

Digestive diseasesb 125 1.7 1.7 0.8 1.2 1.6 1.3 2.0 2.0

Septicemia 84 1.5 1.0 1.1 1.2 0.5 0.6 1.5 1.0

Chronic substance abusec 84 0.3 1.1 1.4 0.7 1.1 0.9 1.5 1.2

Influenza/pneumonia 103 1.4 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.6 0.8 1.1 2.1

All other illnessesd 884 14.0 9.4 9.7 8.3 10.4 11.9 11.7 11.9

Drug/alcohol intoxication 567 4.1 6.1 5.7 8.9 7.5 8.0 7.9 7.2

Accidental 229 2.8 3.7 3.6 2.8 3.1 2.3 2.9 1.6

Homicide 171 1.9 2.0 1.9 1.5 2.3 2.1 3.3 1.8

Other/unknown 489 2.2 3.2 4.3 6.2 5.8 12.3 5.1 8.3

Note: Mortality rates are based on the average daily population (ADP). In 2000 and 2001, ADP was estimated by taking the average of January 1 and 

December 31 one-day inmate population counts. See appendix table 2 for the number of deaths by cause.

a

Excludes influenza and pneumonia.

bExcludes diseases of the liver.

c

Excludes acute intoxication deaths. 

dIncludes other specified (such as diabetes and hepatitis) and unspecified or unknown illnesses. See appendix tables 2 and 3 of this report for a list of the more than 50 

illnesses reported to the program. See Methodology for details on illness classifications.
July 2010 19

Appendix Table 5. 

Jail inmate mortality rate per 100,000 inmates, by the 50 largest jail jurisdictions and selected cause of death, 2000–2007

Jurisdiction

Average annual mortality 

rate, per 100,000 jail 

inmates, 2000–2007

Average annual mortality rate, per 100,000 jail inmates by cause of death, 2000–2007

Suicide

Heart 

disease AIDS Cancer

 Liver 

disease

All other 

illnessesa

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

Other/

unknown

 Total 167 26 40 15 10 6 43 7 5 6 9

Los Angeles County, CA 178 22 45 9 9 10 57 6 6 11 3

New York City, NY 218 22 63 29 9 11 49 9 4 7 14

Maricopa County, AZ 136 34 20 3 14 1 44 7 6 0 6

Cook County, IL 160 12 44 11 16 7 56 2 1 9 1

Harris County, TX 201 16 47 14 23 16 58 6 5 0 17

Philadelphia City, PA 230 31 56 34 20 5 55 11 1 16 2

Dallas County, TX 152 24 43 11 11 7 38 7 4 2 5

Dade County, FL 231 15 52 58 17 2 48 13 4 6 17

Orange County, CA 80 13 16 2 11 0 25 2 6 2 4

Broward County, FL 158 17 19 35 2 15 50 2 5 0 7

San Bernardino County, CA 129 28 18 0 10 0 33 11 0 5 24

San Diego County, CA 195 46 49 2 12 5 32 22 17 5 5

Shelby County, TN 153 17 39 22 14 0 43 2 5 3 7

Santa Clara County, CA 122 44 29 6 6 6 9 9 0 8 5

Hillsborough County, FLb 115 15 41 11 3 10 21 0 0 7 7

Baltimore City, MD 326 89 63 58 0 6 76 3 0 22 9

Sacramento County, CA 170 65 32 7 9 7 39 6 6 0 0

Bexar County, TX 246 27 65 10 14 3 71 13 3 11 30

Alameda County, CA 215 41 65 3 6 10 74 6 0 3 6

Orange County, FL 107 9 28 25 6 0 32 3 3 0 0

District of Columbia 315 19 72 37 36 4 36 11 7 18 75

Fresno County, CA 152 34 29 0 16 5 39 5 5 11 7

Pinellas County, FL 167 24 49 11 5 9 40 12 8 8 0

Tarrant County, TX 118 7 51 7 4 7 28 0 0 0 14

Jacksonville City, FL 226 20 44 13 7 22 52 9 4 9 47

Clark County, NV 187 53 45 14 8 0 52 0 10 0 5

Allegheny County, PA 207 66 40 0 15 0 59 8 8 0 9

Riverside County, CA 145 44 24 7 0 11 27 28 0 4 0

Davidson County, TN 228 32 63 25 8 16 45 13 17 9 0

De Kalb County, GA 126 23 27 21 0 0 40 0 5 5 4

Marion County, IN 176 39 29 21 10 10 38 10 5 5 10

Fulton County, GA 68 18 28 9 0 0 9 4 0 0 0

Milwaukee County, WI 96 4 31 0 0 0 25 17 15 4 0

Wayne County, MI 152 45 47 0 13 14 14 0 9 4 5

Oklahoma County, OK 184 38 40 6 12 0 42 23 0 24 0

Gwinnett County, GA 124 39 33 20 9 0 14 30 0 0 9

Palm Beach County, FL 168 0 49 43 5 19 43 4 5 0 0

Polk County, FL 80 11 21 0 0 0 27 0 10 0 12

Travis County, TX 139 24 28 10 10 14 33 9 0 0 10

Franklin County, OH 110 40 25 5 6 0 16 5 5 0 10

King County, WA 88 10 15 0 5 10 34 14 0 0 0

Cobb County, GA 116 38 26 0 6 5 16 15 5 5 0

Denver County, CO 140 46 26 20 0 0 12 5 5 11 16

Suffolk County, MAc 62 10 5 5 0 5 10 0 0 0 26

Hamilton County, OH 183 36 73 0 0 0 45 0 6 6 17

Mecklenburg County, NC 81 6 26 5 0 0 37 0 6 0 0

Bernalillo County, NM 211 29 11 0 0 18 52 38 0 9 54

Kern County, CA 128 30 37 6 0 0 38 5 0 11 0

El Paso County, TX 172 40 33 0 0 0 65 6 18 5 6

Hampden County, MA 128 22 8 15 27 6 44 0 0 0 6

Note: The 50 largest jurisdictions as of June 30, 2006; displayed from largest to smallest.

a

Includes other specified and unspecified or unknown illnesses such as influenza, septicemia, diabetes, and hepatitis. See appendix tables 2 and 3 to see a full display of 

the more than 50 illnesses reported to the program. See Methodology for details on illness classifications.

bHillsborough County data for 2003 cover the first calendar quarter; quarters 2 through 4 were not reported.

c

Suffolk County data for 2000 excludes the Suffolk County House of Corrections.
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

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20 Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of

the U.S. Department of Justice. James P. Lynch is director.

This Special Report was written by Margaret Noonan.

William Sabol and Spencer Li verified the report.

Doris J. James, Catherine Bird, and Jill Duncan edited the

report, Barbara Quinn and Tina Dorsey produced the

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printing under the supervision of Doris J. James.

July 2010, NCJ 222988

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