BJS home page Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

by Christopher J. Mumola, BJS Policy Analyst 

and Margaret E. Noonan, BJS Statistician 

This site contains a series of data tables 

describing recent trends in mortality in state 

prison, local jails, and during the process of 

arrest by state and local law enforcement 

officers. Data are presented over time, by 

jurisdiction, and by demographic groups. The 

mortality data are from the BJS Deaths in 

Custody Reporting Program (DCRP), which was 

launched in 2000 to implement the Death in 

Custody Reporting Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-

297). 

BJS phased in implementation of the Act over a 

four-year period. Data collection on deaths in 

local jail facilities began in 2000, followed by 

collection from state prison authorities in 2001. 

In 2003 BJS began collecting data on arrestrelated deaths involving the nearly 18,000 state 

and local law enforcement agencies in the 

United States. These collections involved 

individual-level reports of each death, as 

opposed to aggregated counts. 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting 

Program

 See also Methodology 

Click on one of the criminal justice populations below to access 

the data tables: 

Detailed analyses are included in the following BJS publications: 

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 Updated

Local jail deaths, 2000-2006

State and local law enforcement 

arrest-related deaths, 2003-2006 Just added 

Print version of all tables in PDF format (520K file)

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005 

(October 2007, NCJ 219534) 

Presents the first detailed national statistics ever collected on arrestrelated deaths involving state and local law enforcement agencies. 

Medical Causes of Death in State Prisons, 2001-2004

(January 2007, NCJ 216340) 

Provides an in-depth look at the various medical conditions related to 

mortality in state prisons.

Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails

(August 2005, NCJ 210036) 

Presents detailed data on suicide and homicide rates in correctional 

facilities over time, as well as comparative rates of such deaths for 

different groups of inmates. 

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement 

arrest-related 

deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Table 1. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001-2006 

Table 2. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001-2006 

Table 3. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death, 2001-2006 

Table 4. Number of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001-2006 

Table 5. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001-2006 

Table 6. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by selected characteristics, 2001-2006 

Table 7. Number of state prisoner deaths, by state, 2001-2006 

Table 8. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by state, 2001-2006 

Table 9. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-2006 

Table 10. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-2006 

Table 11. Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-

2006 

Table 12. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and state, 2001-2006 Just added

Table 13. Average annual mortality rate, per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and state, 2001-2006 Just added 

Print format (PDF file) | Spreadsheets in zip format (15K) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

 

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 1. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001-2006 

Cause of death

Number of state prisoner deaths

2001-2006 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 All causes 18,550 2,878 2,946 3,167 3,138 3,179 3,242

Illness 15,335 2,303 2,379 2,633 2,645 2,670 2,705

AIDS 1,154 270 245 210 145 153 131

Suicide 1,172 169 168 200 200 215 220

Homicide 299 39 48 50 51 56 55

Drug/alcohol intoxication 213 36 37 23 23 37 57

Accident 180 23 31 26 37 30 33

Other/unknown 197 38 38 25 37 18 41

Note: Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2006 - 

Statistical Tables. 

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 2. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001-2006 

Cause of death

Percent of state prisoner deaths 

2001-2006 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 All causes 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %

Illness 82.7 % 80.0 % 80.8 % 83.1 % 84.3 % 84.0 % 83.4 %

AIDS 6.2 9.4 8.3 6.6 4.6 4.8 4.0 

Suicide 6.3 5.9 5.7 6.3 6.4 6.8 6.8 

Homicide 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.7 

Drug/alcohol intoxication 1.1 1.3 1.3 0.7 0.7 1.2 1.8 

Accident 1.0 0.8 1.1 0.8 1.2 0.9 1.0 

Other/unknown 1.1 1.3 1.3 0.8 1.2 0.6 1.3 

Note: Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2006 - Statistical 

Tables. 

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 3. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death, 2001-2006 

Cause of death

Average annual mortality 

rate per 100,000 state 

prisoners, 2001-2006

 Mortality rate, per 

 100,000 state prisoners

 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 All causes 251 242 246 258 253 254 250

Illness 207 194 198 215 213 213 209

AIDS 16 23 20 17 12 12 10

Suicide 16 14 14 16 16 17 17

Homicide 4 3 4 4 4 4 4

Drug/alcohol intoxication 3 3 3 2 2 3 4

Accident 2 2 3 2 3 2 3

Other/unknown 3 3 3 2 3 1 3

Note: Mortality rates are based on the June 30 state prison custody population count, collected in the 

National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program. Executions are not included; for data on executions, see

Capital Punishment, 2006 - Statistical Tables. 

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 4. Number of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001-2006 

Characteristic

Number of state prisoner deaths

 2001-2006 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 Total 18,550 2,878 2,946 3,167 3,138 3,179 3,242

Gender 

Male 17,772 2,773 2,811 3,039 3,001 3,036 3,112

Female 751 100 115 126 137 143 130

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 9,135 1,343 1,393 1,597 1,552 1,622 1,628

Black, non-Hispanic 7,017 1,159 1,151 1,205 1,187 1,162 1,153

Hispanic 2,026 314 330 311 330 335 406

Other* 298 52 46 45 68 51 36

Age 

Under 18 years 9 2 1 3 1 1 1

18-24 431 86 62 58 85 80 60

25-34 1,529 256 243 278 256 245 251

35-44 3,776 656 663 669 624 601 563

45-54 5,829 896 909 983 966 1,012 1,063

Over 55 6,936 972 1,047 1,171 1,204 1,238 1,304

Note: Detail may not sum to totals due to missing data. Executions are not included; for 

data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2006 - Statistical Tables. 

*Includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific 

Islanders, and persons of two or more races.

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 5. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001-2006 

Characteristic

Percent of state prisoner deaths

2001-2006 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 

 Total 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %

Gender 

Male 95.9 % 96.5 % 96.1 % 96.0 % 95.6 % 95.5 % 96.0 %

Female 4.1 3.5 3.9 4.0 4.4 4.5 4.0

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 49.4 % 46.8 % 47.7 % 50.6 % 49.5 % 51.2 % 50.5 %

Black, non-Hispanic 38.0 40.4 39.4 38.2 37.8 36.7 35.8

Hispanic 11.0 10.9 11.3 9.8 10.5 10.6 12.6

Other* 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.4 2.2 1.6 1.1

Age 

Under 18 years 0 % 0.1 % 0 % 0.1 % 0 % 0 % 0 %

18-24 2.3 3.0 2.1 1.8 2.7 2.5 1.9

25-34 8.3 8.9 8.3 8.8 8.2 7.7 7.7

35-44 20.4 22.9 22.7 21.2 19.9 18.9 17.4

45-54 31.5 31.2 31.1 31.1 30.8 31.9 32.8

Over 55 37.5 33.9 35.8 37.0 38.4 39.0 40.2

Note: Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2006 - 

Statistical Tables. 

*Includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, 

and persons of two or more races.

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 6. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by selected characteristics, 2001-2006 

Characteristic

Average annual 

mortality rate per 

100,000 state 

prisoners, 2001-2006 

Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 Total 251 242 246 258 253 254 250 

Gender 

Male 257 250 251 266 260 261 258 

Female 149 129 146 153 163 164 141 

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 347 327 324 366 352 364 353 

Black, non-Hispanic 200 206 206 207 202 195 187 

Hispanic 199 241 246 164 172 173 202 

Age 

Under 18 years 57 70 33 122 40 40 39 

18-24 33 39 29 27 39 36 26 

25-34 62 63 61 68 62 59 58 

35-44 171 181 183 184 169 162 146 

45-54 561 585 555 557 541 561 569 

Over 55 2,061 2,031 1,992 2,033 2,066 2,103 2,139 

Note: State prison rates are per 100,000 inmates held in state prison custody on June 30. Prisoner 

demographic subgroups are estimated based on the June 30 National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) custody 

counts, demographic data are from the National Corrections Reporting Program, and the 2004 Survey of 

Inmates in State Correctional Facilities. Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital 

Punishment, 2006 - Statistical Tables. 

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Table 7. Number of state prisoner deaths, by state, 2001-2006 

Region

Total number of state prisoner deaths

 2001-2006 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 All statesa 18,550 2,878 2,946 3,167 3,138 3,179 3,242

Northeast 2,723 439 448 492 453 474 417

Connecticutb 195 30 30 36 34 40 25

Maine 25 6 7 2 4 0 6

Massachusetts 180 29 20 30 25 37 39

New Hampshire 37 2 9 6 6 8 6

New Jersey 380 69 60 60 59 61 71

New York 1,014 175 185 198 154 171 131

Pennsylvania 831 122 126 147 163 149 124

Rhode Islandb 36 3 8 8 7 2 8

Vermontb 25 3 3 5 1 6 7

Midwest 3,306 525 532 538 600 542 569

Illinois 504 86 72 80 99 73 94

Indiana 324 47 50 56 56 45 70

Iowa 79 9 11 13 15 19 12

Kansas 140 21 22 32 30 19 16

Michigan 770 114 113 127 138 140 138

Minnesota 69 13 15 13 6 13 9

Missouri 401 57 65 66 77 70 66

Nebraska 45 7 8 7 7 8 8

North Dakota 8 3 1 1 1 1 1

Ohio 673 115 114 91 126 121 106

South Dakota 39 4 11 11 5 4 4

Wisconsin 254 49 50 41 40 29 45

Southa 8,772 1,379 1,347 1,532 1,461 1,483 1,570

Alabama 456 87 85 92 65 66 61

Arkansas 221 42 31 38 35 38 37

Delawareb 95 16 15 19 13 19 13

Florida 1,318 182 183 221 227 244 261

Georgia 640 93 106 126 90 122 103

Kentucky 253 36 41 45 42 43 46

Louisiana 477 72 78 70 94 89 74

Maryland 406 70 71 67 79 57 62

Mississippi 304 36 33 58 53 64 60

North Carolina 457 67 61 74 95 70 90

Oklahoma 394 51 64 71 53 75 80

South Carolina 369 71 45 63 50 75 65

Tennessee 440 51 61 97 71 76 84

Texas 2,376 408 396 383 395 351 443

Virginia 481 71 69 93 86 84 78

West Virginia 76 17 8 15 13 10 13

West 3,749 535 619 605 624 680 686

Alaskab 44 8 14 4 8 4 6
Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Arizona 439 65 74 84 66 78 72

California 2,096 288 337 333 348 366 424

Colorado 265 43 51 47 39 54 31

Hawaiib 49 7 13 8 8 8 5

Idaho 81 17 9 12 12 13 18

Montana 52 6 5 12 12 12 5

Nevada 159 27 25 24 31 29 23

New Mexico 86 11 15 11 16 18 15

Oregon 193 24 33 25 34 37 40

Utah 50 5 9 10 11 8 7

Washington 212 29 31 33 37 45 37

Wyoming 23 5 3 2 2 8 3

Note: Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital 

Punishment, 2006 - Statistical Tables. 

aIncludes nine prisoner deaths reported by the District of Columbia in 2001. As 

of December 30, 2001, sentenced felons from the District of Columbia were the 

responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison 

population.

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Table 8. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by state, 2001-2006 

Region

Average annual 

mortality rate per 

100,000 state 

prisoners, 2001-2006

 Mortality rate per 100,000 

 state prisoners

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 All statesa 251 242 246 258 253 254 250

Northeast 264 255 258 287 266 279 237

Connecticutb 171 167 157 187 181 210 128

Maine 223 355 385 102 201 0 296

Massachusetts 292 278 199 298 249 364 365

New Hampshire 246 86 363 242 247 326 216

New Jersey 229 241 208 228 224 231 243

New York 257 252 275 300 238 270 206

Pennsylvania 346 333 321 363 406 363 291

Rhode Islandb 169 90 221 226 200 59 219

Vermontb 244 216 218 349 49 304 327

Midwest 225 221 222 220 245 218 223

Illinois 189 188 167 185 223 163 207

Indiana 250 242 250 265 256 197 293

Iowa 156 111 135 155 174 221 139

Kansas 261 246 251 354 327 210 179

Michigan 260 236 226 256 284 286 272

Minnesota 157 208 223 178 77 155 100

Missouri 223 202 218 218 256 226 219

Nebraska 181 181 200 169 173 186 176

North Dakota 117 296 87 88 82 74 72

Ohio 249 254 254 200 285 273 226

South Dakota 212 150 373 363 158 118 111

Wisconsin 199 246 244 188 181 133 202

Southa 275 271 262 289 271 273 282

Alabama 297 365 318 333 261 257 251

Arkansas 308 378 266 334 277 302 293

Delawareb 229 225 220 280 192 275 183

Florida 274 253 249 286 277 287 295

Georgia 224 205 228 268 185 256 200

Kentucky 327 313 337 354 336 324 298

Louisiana 402 369 394 354 480 454 364

Maryland 286 293 293 278 333 246 270

Mississippi 318 242 214 365 334 388 366

North Carolina 219 211 184 220 270 191 239

Oklahoma 292 232 288 326 235 326 347

South Carolina 271 331 203 270 214 325 284

Tennessee 387 290 343 501 365 391 433

Texas 258 278 268 247 253 224 280

Virginia 258 231 223 299 277 271 251

West Virginia 332 489 225 392 326 252 304

West 220 198 228 217 218 235 222

Alaskab 167 192 333 90 179 87 123

Arizona 237 240 254 275 212 240 202

California 213 178 213 207 213 223 242
Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Colorado 233 252 284 252 198 266 144

Hawaiib 152 137 252 151 146 140 86

Idaho 232 323 163 214 204 212 278

Montana 322 227 171 420 490 451 172

Nevada 247 271 248 236 280 260 185

New Mexico 228 191 252 179 252 274 220

Oregon 265 226 291 210 268 290 306

Utah 186 121 219 227 242 168 141

Washington 215 189 194 204 218 272 215

Wyoming 219 329 191 126 115 407 148

Note: State prison rates are per 100,000 inmates held in custody on June 30. 

Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2006 - 

Statistical Tables. 

aIncludes nine prisoner deaths reported by the District of Columbia in 2001. As of 

December 30, 2001, sentenced felons from the District of Columbia were the 

responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison 

population. 

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 9. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-2006 

Characteristic

Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death

Illness AIDS Suicide Homicide

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident

Other/ 

unknown

 Total 15,335 1,154 1,172 299 213 180 197 

Gender 

Male 14,721 1,101 1,113 296 207 174 160 

Female 614 53 58 3 6 6 11 

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 7,807 225 675 131 114 102 81 

Black, non-Hispanic 5,715 786 252 101 42 51 70 

Hispanic 1,561 132 197 56 37 20 13 

Other* 190 10 41 9 9 7 6 

Age 

Under 18 years 2 0 5 1 0 1 0 

18-24 156 10 185 41 12 19 8 

25-34 751 168 391 90 62 40 27 

35-44 2,605 539 358 95 78 52 49 

45-54 5,121 359 176 48 47 39 39 

Over 55 6,688 78 57 24 14 29 46 

Note: Detail may not sum to totals due to missing data. Executions are not included; for data on executions, 

see Capital Punishment, 2006 - Statistical Tables. 

*Includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and persons 

of two or more races. 

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State juvenile 

correctional facility 

deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 10. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-2006 

Characteristic

Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death

Illness AIDS Suicide Homicide

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident

Other/ 

unknown

 Total 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %

Gender 

Male 96.0 % 95.4 % 95.0 % 99.0 % 97.2 % 96.7 % 93.6 %

Female 4.0 4.6 5.0 1.0 2.8 3.3 6.4 

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 51.1 % 19.5 % 57.9 % 44.1 % 56.4 % 56.7 % 47.6 %

Black, non-Hispanic 37.4 68.2 21.6 34.0 20.8 28.3 41.2 

Hispanic 10.2 11.4 16.9 18.9 18.3 11.1 7.6 

Other* 1.2 0.9 3.5 3.0 4.5 3.9 3.5 

Age 

Under 18 years 0 % 0 % 0.4 % 0.3 % 0 % 0.6 % 0 %

18-24 1.0 0.9 15.8 13.7 5.6 10.6 4.7 

25-34 4.9 14.6 33.4 30.1 29.1 22.2 16.0 

35-44 17.0 46.7 30.5 31.8 36.6 28.9 29.0 

45-54 33.4 31.1 15.0 16.1 22.1 21.7 23.1 

Over 55 43.6 6.8 4.9 8.0 6.6 16.1 27.2 

Note: Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2006 - Statistical Tables. 

*Includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and persons of 

two or more races.

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 11. Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death 

and selected characteristics, 2001-2006 

Characteristic

 Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 

 state prisoners, by cause of death 

Illness AIDS Suicide Homicide

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident

Other/ 

unknown

 All deaths 207 16 16 4 3 2 3

Gender 

Male 213 16 16 4 3 3 2

Female 122 11 11 1 1 1 2

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 297 9 26 5 4 4 3

Black, non-Hispanic 163 23 7 3 1 1 2

Hispanic 153 14 19 6 4 2 1

Age 

Under 18 years 13 0 31 7 0 7 0

18-24 12 1 14 3 1 1 1

25-34 30 7 16 4 3 2 1

35-44 118 24 16 4 3 2 2

45-54 493 35 17 5 5 4 4

Over 55 1,987 24 17 7 4 8 14 

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

subgroups are estimated based on the June 30 National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) custody counts, 

demographic data are from the National Corrections Reporting Program, and the 2004 Survey of Inmates in 

State Correctional Facilities. Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 

2006 - Statistical Tables. 

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Table 12. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and state, 2001-2006 

Region

Total number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death 

All causes Illness AIDS Suicide Homicide

Drug/alcohol

intoxication Accident

Other/ 

unknown

 All statesa 18,550 15,335 1,154 1,172 299 213 180 197 

Northeast 2,723 2,186 235 193 21 32 29 27 

Connecticutb 195 162 1 30 0 0 2 0 

Maine 25 21 1 2 0 1 0 0 

Massachusetts 180 149 4 15 1 4 2 5 

New Hampshire 37 28 1 8 0 0 0 0 

New Jersey 380 288 53 20 4 5 4 6 

New York 1,014 752 155 69 9 12 15 2 

Pennsylvaniac 831 768 ... 34 7 5 5 12 

Rhode Islandb 36 18 2 10 0 3 1 2 

Vermontb 25 14 4 5 0 2 0 0 

Midwest 3,306 2,828 126 241 32 16 36 27 

Illinois 504 389 47 47 6 3 6 6 

Indiana 324 275 9 20 7 2 5 6 

Iowa 79 67 1 10 0 0 0 1 

Kansas 140 122 1 10 1 1 5 0 

Michigan 770 681 24 45 3 3 8 6 

Minnesota 69 58 1 9 0 1 0 0 

Missouri 401 356 12 22 6 1 3 1 

Nebraska 45 38 1 1 0 2 1 2 

North Dakota 8 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 

Ohio 673 604 22 33 7 0 4 3 

South Dakota 39 29 0 5 2 0 3 0 

Wisconsin 254 202 8 38 0 3 1 2 

Southa 8,772 7,324 664 404 131 59 77 113 

Alabama 456 381 28 4 5 0 7 31 

Arkansas 221 178 14 15 8 0 4 2 

Delawareb 95 59 16 11 2 0 0 7 

Florida 1,318 1,064 169 37 15 4 9 20 

Georgia 640 523 55 38 14 0 6 4 

Kentucky 253 228 12 8 1 1 2 1 

Louisiana 477 402 59 9 4 0 1 2 

Maryland 406 255 73 30 16 24 1 7 

Mississippi 304 271 10 13 1 3 6 0 

North Carolina 457 385 34 17 5 1 12 3 

Oklahoma 394 322 13 16 15 10 7 11 

South Carolina 369 319 22 16 8 0 2 2 

Tennessee 440 377 20 19 11 6 3 4 

Texas 2,376 2,073 102 145 22 6 16 12 

Virginia 481 411 35 23 3 1 1 7 

West Virginia 76 70 1 3 1 1 0 0 

West 3,749 2,997 129 334 115 106 38 30 

Alaskab 44 27 0 6 1 3 6 1 

Arizona 439 380 11 32 8 7 1 0 
Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

California 2,096 1,628 98 190 81 69 13 17 

Coloradoc 265 220 ... 18 7 13 7 0 

Hawaiib 49 37 1 8 1 0 1 1 

Idaho 81 67 0 11 0 0 1 2 

Montana 52 43 0 8 1 0 0 0 

Nevada 159 131 6 12 6 1 2 1 

New Mexico 86 70 2 8 3 2 1 0 

Oregon 193 165 3 13 1 6 1 4 

Utah 50 30 0 14 1 2 1 2 

Washington 212 180 8 12 5 2 3 2 

Wyoming 23 19 0 2 0 1 1 0 

Note: Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2006-Statistical Tables. 

... Data not reported.

aIncludes nine prisoner deaths reported by the District of Columbia in 2001. As of December 30, 2001, sentenced 

felons from the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison population.

cState law restricts the reporting of personally-identifiable information on AIDS-related deaths; all AIDS-related 

deaths are included in "illness" category. For data on AIDS-related deaths in prison, see HIV in Prisons, 2006. 

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Deaths in Custody 

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State prison deaths, 2001-2006 

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Table 13. Average annual mortality rate, per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and state, 2001-2006 

Region

Average annual mortality rate, per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death 

All causes Illness AIDS Suicide Homicide

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident

Other/ 

unknown

 All statesa 251 207 16 16 4 3 2 3 

Northeast 264 212 23 19 2 3 3 3 

Connecticutb 171 142 1 26 0 0 2 0 

Maine 223 186 10 17 0 10 0 8 

Massachusetts 292 242 6 24 2 7 3 8 

New Hampshire 246 186 7 54 0 0 0 4 

New Jersey 229 174 32 12 2 3 2 4 

New York 257 191 39 18 2 3 4 6 

Pennsylvaniac 346 319 ... 14 3 2 2 15 

Rhode Islandb 169 85 10 47 0 14 5 9 

Vermontb 244 129 40 55 0 20 0 0 

Midwest 225 192 9 16 2 1 2 4 

Illinois 189 146 18 18 2 1 2 7 

Indiana 250 212 7 15 5 2 4 7 

Iowa 156 132 2 20 0 0 0 2 

Kansas 261 227 2 19 2 2 9 2 

Michigan 260 230 8 15 1 1 3 2 

Minnesota 157 132 2 20 0 2 0 1 

Missouri 223 198 7 12 3 1 2 9 

Nebraska 181 152 4 4 0 8 4 8 

North Dakota 117 102 0 15 0 0 0 1 

Ohio 249 223 8 12 3 0 1 1 

South Dakota 212 156 0 29 11 0 16 2 

Wisconsin 199 158 6 30 0 2 1 2 

Southa 275 229 21 13 4 2 2 24 

Alabama 297 248 18 3 3 0 4 24 

Arkansas 308 248 20 21 11 0 5 20 

Delawareb 229 143 38 26 5 0 0 21 

Florida 274 221 36 8 3 1 2 6 

Georgia 224 182 20 13 5 0 2 3 

Kentucky 327 294 16 10 1 1 3 3 

Louisiana 402 339 50 8 3 0 1 7 

Maryland 286 179 51 21 11 17 1 5 

Mississippi 318 284 11 14 1 3 6 2 

North Carolina 219 184 17 8 2 0 6 10 

Oklahoma 292 239 10 12 11 7 5 10 

South Carolina 271 234 16 12 6 0 1 5 

Tennessee 387 332 18 16 10 5 3 5 

Texas 258 225 11 16 2 1 2 5 

Virginia 258 221 19 12 2 1 1 4 

West Virginia 332 306 4 13 4 4 0 0 

West 220 175 8 20 7 6 2 5 

Alaskab 167 102 0 23 4 11 24 4 

Arizona 237 206 6 17 4 4 1 2 
Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

California 213 165 10 19 8 7 1 2 

Coloradoc 233 193 ... 16 6 11 6 3 

Hawaiib 152 114 3 25 3 0 3 9 

Idaho 232 192 0 31 0 0 3 6 

Montana 322 267 0 49 6 0 0 1 

Nevada 247 204 9 18 9 2 3 1 

New Mexico 228 185 6 22 8 5 2 5 

Oregon 265 227 4 18 1 8 1 12 

Utah 186 111 0 53 4 7 4 9 

Washington 215 183 8 12 5 2 3 2 

Wyoming 219 178 0 21 0 11 8 0 

Note: State prison rates are per 100,000 inmates held in custody (including private facilities) on June 30th. 

Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2006-Statistical Tables. 

... Data not reported.

aIncludes nine prisoner deaths reported by the District of Columbia in 2001. As of December 30, 2001, sentenced 

felons from the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison population.

cState law restricts the reporting of personally-identifiable information on AIDS-related deaths; all AIDS-related 

deaths are included in "illness" category. For data on AIDS-related deaths in prison, see HIV in Prisons, 2006. 

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement 

arrest-related 

deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

Local jail deaths, 2000-2006 

Table 1. Number of local jail inmate deaths by cause of death, 2000-2006 

Table 2. Percent of local jail inmate deaths by cause of death, 2000-2006 

Table 3. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death, 2000-2006 

Table 4. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by selected characteristics, 2000-2006 

Table 5. Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by selected characteristics, 2000-2006 

Table 6. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected characteristics, 2000-2006 

Table 7. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by 50 largest jail jurisdictions, 2000-2006 

Table 8. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by 50 largest jail jurisdictions, 2000-2006 

Table 9. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000-2006 

Table 10. Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000-2006 

Table 11. Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000-

2006 

Print format (PDF file) | Spreadsheets in zip format (11K) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology 

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Local jail deaths, 2000-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

 Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 1. Number of local jail inmate deaths by cause of death, 2000-2006 

Cause of death

Number of local jail inmate deaths

2000-2006 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

All causes 7,008 905 947 974 1,003 1,030 1,052 1,097

Illness 3,311 459 428 459 458 485 465 557

AIDS 368 58 59 50 54 52 40 55

Suicide 2,076 289 314 314 296 300 286 277

Drug/alcohol intoxication 489 37 58 55 90 77 85 87

Accident 210 25 35 35 27 32 25 31

Homicide 147 17 21 17 14 23 21 34

Other/unknown 407 20 32 44 64 61 130 56

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Local jail deaths, 2000-2006 

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Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 2. Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000-2006 

Cause of death

Percent of local jail inmate deaths

2000-2006 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 All causes 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %

Illness 47.2 % 50.7 % 45.2 % 47.1 % 45.7 % 47.1 % 44.2 % 50.8 %

AIDS 5.3 6.4 6.2 5.1 5.4 5.0 3.8 5.0

Suicide 29.6 31.9 33.2 32.2 29.5 29.1 27.2 25.3

Drug/alcohol intoxication 7.0 4.1 6.1 5.6 9.0 7.5 8.1 7.9

Accident 3.0 2.8 3.7 3.6 2.7 3.1 2.4 2.8

Homicide 2.1 1.9 2.2 1.7 1.4 2.2 2.0 3.1

Other/unknown 5.8 2.2 3.4 4.5 6.4 5.9 12.4 5.1

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Local jail deaths, 2000-2006 

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Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

 

Table 3. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death, 2000-2006

Cause of death

Average annual 

mortality rate per 

100,000 local jail 

inmates, 2000-2006

Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 All causes 145 146 150 146 145 144 141 143

Illness 69 74 68 69 66 68 62 73

AIDS 8 9 98 87 5 7

Suicide 43 47 50 47 43 42 38 36

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

Accident 4 4 65 44 3 4

Homicide 3 3 33 23 3 4

Other/unknown 8 3 5 7 9 9 17 7

Note: Mortality rates are based on June 30th custody population.

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Deaths in Custody 

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Local jail deaths, 2000-2006 

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 Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 4. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by selected 

characteristics, 2000-2006 

Characteristic

Number of local jail inmate deaths

2000-2006 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 Total 7,008 905 947 974 1,003 1,030 1,052 1,097

Gender 

Male 6,201 814 852 867 868 899 933 968

Female 801 91 91 107 133 131 119 129

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 3,641 453 518 537 538 504 561 530

Black, non-Hispanic 2,327 306 283 305 324 363 336 410

Hispanic 847 118 116 114 120 135 118 126

Other* 153 17 24 18 16 25 23 30

Age 

Under 18 43 8 8 7 4 7 5 4

18-24 717 89 107 101 104 105 108 103

25-34 1,377 184 193 186 213 212 193 196

35-44 2,070 266 283 338 283 300 287 313

45-54 1,835 239 242 238 266 267 277 306

55 or older 930 115 111 102 127 136 171 168

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data.

*Includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, other 

Pacific Islanders, and persons of two or more races.

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enforcement arrestrelated deaths

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Local jail deaths, 2000-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 5. Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by selected characteristics, 2000-2006

Characteristic

Percent of local jail inmate deaths

2000-2006 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Gender 

Male 88.6% 89.9% 90.3% 89.0% 86.7% 87.3% 88.7% 88.2%

Female 11.4 10.1 9.7 11.0 13.3 12.7 11.3 11.8 

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 52.3% 50.7% 55.0% 55.1% 53.9% 49.1% 54.0% 48.4%

Black, non-Hispanic 33.4 34.2 30.1 31.3 32.5 35.3 32.4 37.4 

Hispanic 12.2 13.2 12.3 11.7 12.0 13.1 11.4 11.5 

Other* 2.2 1.9 2.6 1.8 1.6 2.4 2.2 2.7 

Age 

Under 18 0.6% 0.9% 0.8% 0.7% 0.4% 0.7% 0.5% 0.4%

18-24 10.3 9.9 11.3 10.4 10.4 10.2 10.4 9.4 

25-34 19.8 20.4 20.4 19.1 21.4 20.6 18.5 18.0 

35-44 29.7 29.5 30.0 34.8 28.4 29.2 27.6 28.7 

45-54 26.3 26.5 25.6 24.5 26.7 26.0 26.6 28.1 

55 or older 13.3 12.8 11.8 10.5 12.7 13.2 16.4 15.4 

*Includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and persons 

of two or more races.

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Deaths in Custody 

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Local jail deaths, 2000-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 6. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected 

characteristics, 2000-2006 

Characteristic

Average annual 

mortality rate per 

100,000 local jail 

inmates, 2000-

2006

Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates

 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 Total 145 146 150 146 145 144 141 143

Gender 

Male 146 148 153 147 142 144 143 145

Female 137 126 124 139 162 150 126 130

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 188 203 228 224 179 159 169 157

Black, non-Hispanic 122 123 112 114 120 132 116 139

Hispanic 106 103 99 93 113 125 105 106

Age 

Under 18 50 72 70 58 32 54 37 29

18-24 53 51 60 54 54 52 51 48

25-34 87 93 96 88 97 93 81 65

35-44 165 165 172 195 157 162 148 157

45-54 379 385 383 358 385 374 371 399

55 or older 868 842 799 697 835 866 1,040 997

Note: Mortality rates are based on June 30th custody population. 

Inmate populations of various demographic groups are estimates 

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

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Table 7. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by 50 largest jail jurisdictions, 2000-2006

Jurisdiction

Number of local jail inmate deaths

2000-2006 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 Total 2,464 328 330 354 330 347 365 410

Los Angeles County, CA 237 35 37 33 28 23 43 38

New York City, NY 217 38 37 24 30 25 30 33

Maricopa County, AZ 77 10 7 14 8 9 17 12

Cook County, IL 117 22 14 12 8 24 14 23

Harris County, TX 111 13 17 22 17 11 9 22

Philadelphia City, PA 118 14 14 13 13 22 21 21

Dallas County, TX 75 7 6 16 13 12 8 13

Dade County, FL 106 14 16 16 16 13 14 17

Orange County, CA 30 3 1 2 6 3 5 10

Broward County, FL 57 11 12 5 7 5 8 9

San Bernardino County, CA 49 3 4 7 6 4 10 15

San Diego County, CA 71 7 10 6 9 14 15 10

Shelby County, TN 56 7 8 7 6 9 11 8

Santa Clara County, CA 34 4 3 7 5 3 8 4

Hillsborough County, FLa 30 8 3 5 2 6 2 4

Baltimore City, MD 79 11 10 18 9 9 9 13

Sacramento County, CA 48 2 7 11 7 6 13 2

Bexar County, TX 66 6 10 9 14 13 9 5

Alameda County, CA 60 10 6 13 12 7 4 8

Orange County, FL 26 6 4 5 1 2 3 5

District of Columbia 61 4 0 10 11 13 11 12

Fresno County, CA 30 5 3 6 4 8 1 3

Pinellas County, FL 36 5 5 4 7 4 3 8

Tarrant County, TX 28 6 3 1 3 10 2 3

Jacksonville City, FL 48 7 12 10 6 3 7 3

Clark County, NV 37 8 9 4 3 1 6 6

Allegheny County, PA 43 3 6 7 6 5 8 8

Riverside County, CA 29 2 2 4 2 4 6 9

Davidson County, TN 58 7 8 9 6 10 10 8

De Kalb County, GA 24 2 4 1 4 7 4 2

Marion County, IN 31 7 6 3 6 2 2 5

Fulton County, GA 14 4 0 5 5 0 0 0

Milwaukee County, WI 20 0 4 2 2 6 3 3

Wayne County, MI 30 6 7 4 4 0 5 4

Oklahoma County, OK 30 0 5 2 5 5 5 8

Gwinnett County, GA 11 0 0 0 1 4 3 3

Palm Beach County, FL 29 5 6 2 5 4 3 4

Polk County, FL 13 0 0 2 4 1 2 4

Travis County, TX 24 4 4 3 2 3 3 5

Franklin County, OH 19 3 2 5 3 2 2 2

King County, WA 13 / 0 2 5 3 1 2

Cobb County, GA 20 1 0 4 0 7 1 7

Denver County, CO 16 0 5 1 2 2 2 4

Suffolk County, MAb 80201212

Hamilton County, OH 28 3 4 4 4 3 4 6
Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Mecklenburg County, NC 70032002

Bernalillo County, NM 29 4 1 3 3 4 5 9

Kern County, CA 22 3 3 2 2 6 3 3

El Paso County, TX 25 5 1 4 2 7 5 1

Hampden County, MA 17 3 2 2 3 1 4 2

Note: Fifty largest jurisdictions as of June 30, 2006, displayed from largest to smallest.

/Not Reported.

aHillsborough County data for 2003 cover the first calendar quarter; quarters 2 through 4 

were not reported.

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

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Table 8. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by 50 largest jail jurisdictions, 2000-2006 

Jurisdiction

Average annual 

mortality rate per 

100,000 local jail 

inmates, 2000-

2006

Mortality rate per 100,000 

local jail inmates

 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

 Total 167 160 165 175 158 162 166 181

Los Angeles County, CA 176 178 191 171 132 124 240 197

New York City, NY 218 245 255 172 206 182 221 245

Maricopa County, AZ 134 150 99 175 99 104 188 123

Cook County, IL 165 224 137 110 74 228 136 246

Harris County, TX 205 158 239 331 233 134 100 242

Philadelphia City, PA 229 216 199 180 199 298 273 239

Dallas County, TX 155 96 96 244 191 169 110 182

Dade County, FL 226 204 250 240 233 196 208 251

Orange County, CA 74 47 21 44 118 54 82 154

Broward County, FL 168 289 253 98 141 96 146 151

San Bernardino County, CA 129 59 75 141 112 75 178 262

San Diego County, CA 198 132 204 123 182 271 286 188

Shelby County, TN 157 121 155 145 128 185 217 151

Santa Clara County, CA 116 97 73 179 129 72 179 84

Hillsborough County, FLa 106 189 86 143 53 141 43 91

Baltimore City, MD 304 345 304 495 236 209 225 313

Sacramento County, CA 189 66 218 334 193 150 310 49

Bexar County, TX 257 168 293 247 389 344 233 125

Alameda County, CA 215 230 156 335 313 173 99 201

Orange County, FL 92 125 96 132 26 58 79 130

District of Columbia 313 256 0 572 347 369 311 335

Fresno County, CA 164 222 128 264 151 268 33 85

Pinellas County, FL 172 200 183 139 238 130 83 228

Tarrant County, TX 117 179 86 32 88 291 60 86

Jacksonville City, FL 223 256 397 337 197 88 203 86

Clark County, NV 193 336 355 146 117 34 187 177

Allegheny County, PA 222 131 209 283 229 183 284 237

Riverside County, CA 132 78 76 122 62 124 185 276

Davidson County, TN 280 251 306 315 204 311 320 250

De Kalb County, GA 122 68 127 38 145 269 142 64

Marion County, IN 177 289 245 122 216 81 83 203

Fulton County, GA 73 133 0 182 193 0 0 0

Milwaukee County, WI 90 0 116 64 62 177 107 104

Wayne County, MI 158 214 261 148 153 0 192 140

Oklahoma County, OK 178 0 268 89 197 189 214 291

Gwinnett County, GA 63 0 0 0 56 163 111 110

Palm Beach County, FL 162 195 255 77 202 145 108 152

Polk County, FL 80 0 0 107 189 38 70 154

Travis County, TX 133 156 150 118 81 125 109 193

Franklin County, OH 109 139 88 199 112 75 74 78

King County, WA 87 / 0 74 208 124 40 78

Cobb County, GA 121 49 0 182 0 299 41 279
 Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Denver County, CO 113 0 274 53 105 107 89 162

Suffolk County, MAb 47 0 87 0 41 79 39 84

Hamilton County, OH 185 143 202 200 188 134 172 256

Mecklenburg County, NC 49 0 0 157 102 0 0 86

Bernalillo County, NM 224 293 70 213 179 191 232 393

Kern County, CA 135 118 114 78 90 274 136 132

El Paso County, TX 159 250 47 167 84 292 229 47

Hampden County, MA 139 175 119 121 189 62 207 97

Note: Fifty largest jurisdictions as of June 30, 2006, displayed from largest to smallest. Mortality rates 

are based on average daily population (ADP).

/Not Reported.

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

reported.

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

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Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

 Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 9. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and 

selected characteristics, 2000-2006 

Characteristic

Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000-2006

Illness AIDS Suicide

 Drug/alcohol 

 intoxication Accident Homicide

Other/ 

unknown

 Total 3,311 368 2,076 489 210 147 407

Gender 

Male 2,895 328 1,912 386 188 144 348

Female 416 40 163 103 22 3 54

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 1,465 57 1,441 295 132 59 192

Black, non-Hispanic 1,385 257 306 119 54 59 147

Hispanic 386 50 254 64 18 27 48

Other* 60 4 70 8 6 1 4

Age 

Under 18 5 1 32 2 0 1 2

18-24 114 9 424 66 31 33 40

25-34 350 72 645 159 52 32 67

35-44 916 160 626 145 65 40 118

45-54 1,183 104 267 101 49 28 103

55 or older 738 20 75 14 13 12 58

Note: Detail may not add to total due to missing data.

*Includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and 

persons of two or more races.

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Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 10. Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and 

selected characteristics, 2000-2006 

Characteristic

Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000-2006

Illness AIDS Suicide

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

Other/ 

unknown

 Total 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %

Gender 

Male 87.4 % 89.1 % 92.1 % 78.9 % 89.5 % 98.0 % 86.6 %

Female 12.6 10.9 7.9 21.1 10.5 2.0 13.4 

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 44.4 % 15.5 % 69.6 % 60.7 % 62.9 % 40.4 % 49.1 %

Black, non-Hispanic 42.0 69.8 14.8 24.5 25.7 40.4 37.6 

Hispanic 11.7 13.6 12.3 13.2 8.6 18.5 12.3 

Other* 1.8 1.1 3.4 1.6 2.9 0.7 1.0 

Age 

Under 18 0.2 % 0.3 % 1.5 % 0.4 % 0.0 % 0.7 % 0.5 %

18-24 3.4 2.5 20.5 13.6 14.8 22.6 10.3 

25-34 10.6 19.7 31.2 32.6 24.8 21.9 17.3 

35-44 27.7 43.7 30.3 29.8 31.0 27.4 30.4 

45-54 35.8 28.4 12.9 20.7 23.3 19.2 26.5 

55 or older 22.3 5.5 3.6 2.9 6.2 8.2 14.9 

*Includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and persons 

of two or more races.

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Local jail deaths, 2000-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 11. Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death 

and selected characteristics, 2000-2006 

Characteristic

 Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by 

 cause of death, 2000-2006

 Illness AIDS Suicide

 Drug/alcohol

 intoxication Accident Homicide

 Other/ 

 unknown

Total 69 8 43 10 4 3 8

Gender 

Male 68 8 45 9 4 3 8

Female 71 7 28 17 4 0 9

Race/Hispanic 

origin 

White, non-Hispanic 76 3 76 15 7 3 9

Black, non-Hispanic 73 14 16 6 3 3 8

Hispanic 48 6 32 8 2 3 6

Age 

Under 18 6 1 38 2 0 1 2

18-24 8 1 32 5 2 2 3

25-34 22 5 41 10 3 2 4

35-44 73 13 50 11 5 3 9

45-54 245 21 55 21 10 6 21

55 or older 690 19 71 13 12 11 52

Note: Mortality rates are based on June 30th custody population. Inmate populations of various 

demographic groups are estimates based on the Annual Survey of Jails and the 2002 Survey of 

Inmates in Local Jails.

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

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Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State and local law enforcement arrest-related deaths, 2003-2006 

Table 1. Number of arrest-related deaths, by cause of death, 2003-2006 

Table 2. Percent of arrest-related deaths, by cause of death, 2003-2006 

Table 3. Number of arrest-related deaths, by selected characteristics, 2003-2006 

Table 4. Percent of arrest-related deaths, by selected characteristics, 2003-2006 

Table 5. Number of arrest-related deaths, by selected characteristics and cause of death, 2003-2006 

Table 6. Percent of arrest-related deaths, by selected characteristics and cause of death, 2003-2006 

Table 7. Number of arrest-related deaths, by state, 2003-2006 

Table 8. Number of arrest-related deaths, by state and cause of death, 2003-2006 

Table 9. Number of arresting agencies with at least one reported arrest-related death, by state, 2003-2006 

Table 10. Arrest-related deaths, by most serious offense, 2003-2006 

Table 11. Percent of arrest-related deaths, by most serious offense and cause of death, 2003-2006 

Table 12. Number of arrest-related deaths, by characteristics of the law enforcement agency involved and cause of death, 

2003-2006 

Table 13. Percent of arrest-related deaths, by characteristics of the law enforcement agency involved and cause of death, 

2003-2006 

Print format (PDF file) | Spreadsheets in zip format (13K) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

 

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enforcement arrestrelated deaths

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State and local law enforcement arrest-related deaths, 2003-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 1. Number of arrest-related deaths, by cause of death, 2003-2006 

Cause of death

 Number of arrest-related deaths

2003-2006 2003 2004 2005 2006

 All causes 2,686 627 670 679 710

Homicide 

 By law enforcement 1,540 366 367 368 439

 By other persons 13 3 4 4 2

Drug/alcohol intoxication 317 83 79 85 70

Suicide 289 59 84 79 67

Accidental injury 182 52 41 47 42

Illness/natural causes 139 27 46 32 34

Other/unknown 206 37 49 64 56

Note: See Methodology for information on missing data by state for each year.

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Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State and local law enforcement arrest-related deaths, 2003-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 2. Percent of arrest-related deaths, by cause of death, 2003-2006 

Cause of death

 Percent of arrest-related deaths

2003-2006 2003 2004 2005 2006

 All causes 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %

Homicide 

 By law enforcement 57.3 % 58.4 % 54.8 % 54.2 % 61.8 %

 By other persons 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.3 

Drug/alcohol intoxication 11.8 13.2 11.8 12.5 9.9 

Suicide 10.8 9.4 12.5 11.6 9.4 

Accidental injury 6.8 8.3 6.1 6.9 5.9 

Illness/natural causes 5.2 4.3 6.9 4.7 4.8 

Other/unknown 7.7 5.9 7.3 9.4 7.9 

Note: See Methodology for information on missing data by state for each year.

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State and local law enforcement arrest-related deaths, 2003-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 3. Number of arrest-related deaths, by selected characteristics, 

2003-2006 

Characteristic

Number of arrest-related deaths

2003-2006 2003 2004 2005 2006 

 Total 2,686 627 670 679 710

Gender 

Male 2,566 594 642 655 675

Female 112 32 28 21 31

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 1,134 286 273 277 298

Black, non-Hispanic 834 196 213 217 208

Hispanic 552 108 145 136 163

Othera 100 30 23 26 21

Ageb 

Under 18 68 18 19 13 18

18-24 503 117 125 140 121

25-34 780 176 185 184 235

35-44 720 184 178 188 170

45-54 390 94 101 80 115

55 or older 164 30 54 50 30

Note: Detail may not sum to totals due to missing data. 

aIncludes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, other 

Pacific Islanders, and persons of two or more races. 

bIncludes 64 cases in which only year of birth was reported, and age was 

estimated based on an imputed date of birth of June 30th.

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State and local law enforcement arrest-related deaths, 2003-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 4. Percent of arrest-related deaths, by selected characteristics, 

2003-2006 

Characteristic

 Percent of arrest-related deaths

2003-2006 2003 2004 2005 2006

 Total 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %

Gender 

Male 95.8 % 94.9 % 95.8 % 96.9 % 95.6 %

Female 4.2 5.1 4.2 3.1 4.4

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 43.3 % 46.1 % 41.7 % 42.2 % 43.2 %

Black, non-Hispanic 31.8 31.6 32.6 33.1 30.1

Hispanic 21.1 17.4 22.2 20.7 23.6

Othera 3.8 4.8 3.5 4.0 3.0

Ageb 

Under 18 2.6 % 2.9 % 2.9 % 2.0 % 2.6 %

18-24 19.2 18.9 18.9 21.4 17.6

25-34 29.7 28.4 27.9 28.1 34.1

35-44 27.4 29.7 26.9 28.7 24.7

45-54 14.9 15.2 15.3 12.2 16.7

55 or older 6.2 4.8 8.2 7.6 4.4

aIncludes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, 

other Pacific Islanders, and persons of two or more races. 

bIncludes 64 cases in which only year of birth was reported, and age 

was estimated based on an imputed date of birth of June 30th.

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State and local law enforcement arrest-related deaths, 2003-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 5. Number of arrest-related deaths, by selected characteristics and cause of death, 2003-2006 

Selected characteristics

Cause of death, 2003-2006

All causes Homicide

Drug/alcohol

intoxication Suicide Accident Illness

Other/ 

unknown

 All deaths 2,686 1,553 317 289 182 139 206 

Gender 

Male 2,566 1,499 300 275 177 127 188 

Female 112 52 17 14 5 12 12 

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 1,134 675 107 159 64 61 68 

Black, non-Hispanic 834 454 125 44 76 54 81 

Hispanic 552 326 72 72 35 16 31 

Othera 100 72 12 8 3 3 2 

Ageb 

Under 18 68 52 4 6 5 0 1 

18-24 503 365 30 49 36 4 19 

25-34 780 471 111 73 50 22 53 

35-44 720 361 111 91 52 33 72 

45-54 390 194 50 42 29 46 29 

55 or older 164 84 7 22 8 34 9 

aIncludes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, 

other Pacific Islanders, and persons of two or more races. 

bIncludes 64 cases in which only year of birth was reported, and age 

was estimated based on an imputed date of birth of June 30th.

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State and local law enforcement arrest-related deaths, 2003-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 6. Percent of arrest-related deaths, by selected characteristics and cause of death, 2003-2006 

Selected characteristics

Cause of death, 2003-2006

All causes Homicide

Drug/alcohol

intoxication Suicide Accident Illness

Other/ 

unknown

 All deaths 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Gender 

Male 95.8 % 96.6% 94.6% 95.2% 97.3% 91.4% 94.0%

Female 4.2 3.4 5.4 4.8 2.7 8.6 6.0 

Race/Hispanic origin 

White, non-Hispanic 43.3 % 44.2% 33.9% 56.2% 36.0% 45.5% 37.4%

Black, non-Hispanic 31.8 29.7 39.6 15.5 42.7 40.3 44.5 

Hispanic 21.1 21.3 22.8 25.4 19.7 11.9 17.0 

Othera 3.8 4.7 3.8 2.8 1.7 2.2 1.1 

Ageb 

Under 18 2.6 % 3.4% 1.3 % 2.1% 2.8% 0.0% 0.5%

18-24 19.2 23.9 9.6 17.3 20.0 2.9 10.4 

25-34 29.7 30.8 35.5 25.8 27.8 15.8 29.0 

35-44 27.4 23.6 35.5 32.2 28.9 23.7 39.3 

45-54 14.9 12.7 16.0 14.8 16.1 33.1 15.8 

55 or older 6.2 5.5 2.2 7.8 4.4 24.5 4.9 

Number of deaths 2,686 1,553 317 289 182 139 206 

aIncludes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, 

other Pacific Islanders, and persons of two or more races. 

bIncludes 64 cases in which only year of birth was reported, and age 

was estimated based on an imputed date of birth of June 30th.

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Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Table 7. Number of arrest-related deaths, by state, 2003-2006 

Region and jurisdiction 

Number of arrest-related deaths

2003-2006 2003 2004 2005 2006

 All states 2,686 627 670 679 710 

Northeast 369 71 99 91 108 

Connecticut 13 0 5 4 4 

Maine 9 3 1 2 3 

Massachusetts 25 9 6 8 2 

New Hampshire 7 1 2 2 2 

New Jersey 44 6 14 17 7 

New York 142 28 39 30 45 

Pennsylvania 113 21 30 26 36 

Rhode Island 11 2 2 1 6 

Vermont 5 1 0 1 3 

Midwest 472 131 124 116 101 

Illinois 100 29 28 23 20 

Indiana 33 9 7 10 7 

Iowa 25 4 9 9 3 

Kansas 27 5 6 7 9 

Michigan 90 26 24 22 18 

Minnesota 23 8 9 3 3 

Missouri 16 9 3 2 2 

Nebraska 11 5 4 1 1 

North Dakota 7 3 2 2 0 

Ohio 97 20 25 26 26 

South Dakota 5 3 1 1 0 

Wisconsin 38 10 6 10 12 

South 907 217 225 242 223 

Alabama 10 2 0 6 2 

Arkansasa 4 / / 1 3 

Delaware 8 1 1 1 5 

District of Columbia 12 2 4 4 2 

Florida 277 55 68 78 76 

Georgia / / / / / 

Kentucky 11 3 2 4 2 

Louisianaa 23 / 1 10 12 

Maryland / / / / / 

Mississippia 3 / 1 0 2 

North Carolinab 57 16 19 22 / 

Oklahomab 39 15 20 4 / 

South Carolinac 10 6 0 0 4 

Tennesseea 7 / 0 4 3 

Texas 380 105 89 96 90 

Virginia 59 10 17 10 22 

West Virginia 7 2 3 2 0 

West 938 208 222 230 278 

Alaska 4 0 1 2 1 

Arizona 181 26 46 52 57 

California 465 106 112 93 154 

Colorado 56 21 12 12 11 
Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Hawaii 12 0 5 5 2 

Idaho 5 2 1 1 1 

Montana / / / / / 

Nevadad 2 2 / / / 

New Mexico 42 15 9 8 10 

Oregon 54 12 13 17 12 

Utah 30 6 9 6 9 

Washington 86 17 14 34 21 

Wyomingd 1 1 / / / 

/Not reported.

aReported data for 2004-2006; did not report 2003 data.

bReported data for 2003-2005; did not report 2006 data.

c2006 data exclude quarter 1.

dReported data for 2003; did not report data for 2004-2006.

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Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Table 8. Number of arrest-related deaths, by state and cause of death, 2003-2006 

Region and jurisdiction 

Cause of death, 2003-2006

All causes Homicide

Drug/alcohol

intoxication Suicide Accident Illness

Other/ 

unknown

 All states 2,686 1,553 317 289 182 139 206 

Northeast 369 206 49 33 20 40 21 

Connecticut 13 12 0 0 0 0 1 

Maine 9 4 1 2 1 0 1 

Massachusetts 25 7 10 3 0 4 1 

New Hampshire 7 5 1 1 0 0 0 

New Jersey 44 24 7 3 3 3 4 

New York 142 72 17 13 10 23 7 

Pennsylvania 113 75 9 10 4 8 7 

Rhode Island 11 4 4 0 1 2 0 

Vermont 5 3 0 1 1 0 0 

Midwest 472 326 38 41 31 17 19 

Illinois 100 67 5 11 6 6 5 

Indiana 33 33 0 0 0 0 0 

Iowa 25 16 0 6 2 0 1 

Kansas 27 17 3 2 2 1 2 

Michigan 90 59 11 7 7 4 2 

Minnesota 23 16 2 0 3 1 1 

Missouri 16 10 2 4 0 0 0 

Nebraska 11 8 0 0 1 2 0 

North Dakota 7 2 2 3 0 0 0 

Ohio 97 66 12 2 7 3 7 

South Dakota 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 

Wisconsin 38 27 1 6 3 0 1 

South 907 455 121 112 74 48 97 

Alabama 10 6 1 1 0 1 1 

Arkansasa 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 

Delaware 8 7 0 0 0 0 1 

District of Columbia 12 7 1 2 0 1 1 

Florida 277 157 24 6 28 6 56 

Georgia / / / / / / / 

Kentucky 11 11 0 0 0 0 0 

Louisianaa 23 14 2 1 2 3 1 

Maryland / / / / / / / 

Mississippia 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 

North Carolinab 57 19 6 9 13 3 7 

Oklahomab 39 31 1 6 1 0 0 

South Carolinac 10 3 2 0 2 0 3 

Tennesseea 7 1 2 0 1 0 3 

Texas 380 153 77 77 22 30 21 

Virginia 59 42 2 8 3 3 1 

West Virginia 7 3 1 0 2 0 1 

West 938 566 109 103 57 34 69 

Alaska 4 2 0 1 1 0 0 

Arizona 181 114 17 34 7 4 5 
Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

California 465 277 70 21 32 24 41 

Colorado 56 32 4 10 7 0 3 

Hawaii 12 5 4 0 0 3 0 

Idaho 5 4 0 0 1 0 0 

Montana / / / / / / / 

Nevadad 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 

New Mexico 42 18 5 15 2 1 1 

Oregon 54 46 1 5 2 0 0 

Utah 30 16 1 11 0 0 2 

Washington 86 51 7 6 5 0 17 

Wyomingd 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 

/Not reported.

aReported data for 2004-2006; did not report 2003 data.

bReported data for 2003-2005; did not report 2006 data.

c2006 data exclude quarter 1.

dReported data for 2003; did not report data for 2004-2006.

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Table 9. Number of arresting agencies with at least one reported arrestrelated death, by state, 2003-2006 

Region and jurisdiction 

 Number of arresting agencies with at least 

 one reported arrest-related death

Average, 

2003-2006 2003 2004 2005 2006

 All states 384 366 373 405 392 

Northeast 47 40 50 50 48 

Connecticut 3 0 4 4 4 

Maine 3 4 1 3 3 

Massachusetts 6 9 5 6 2 

New Hampshire 2 1 2 2 2 

New Jersey 9 7 13 10 7 

New York 10 8 11 9 10 

Pennsylvania 12 8 12 14 12 

Rhode Island 3 2 2 1 5 

Vermont 1 1 0 1 3 

Midwest 79 82 83 80 72 

Illinois 13 11 13 12 14 

Indiana 6 8 5 6 5 

Iowa 6 3 11 7 3 

Kansas 6 6 3 6 7 

Michigan 15 15 16 15 13 

Minnesota 4 5 6 3 2 

Missouri 3 4 3 2 2 

Nebraska 2 5 1 1 1 

North Dakota 2 5 2 2 0 

Ohio 16 10 17 18 18 

South Dakota 1 1 1 1 0 

Wisconsin 7 9 5 7 7 

South 136 128 125 153 137 

Alabama 3 2 0 6 2 

Arkansasa 1 / 0 1 3 

Delaware 2 1 1 1 3 

District of Columbia 1 1 1 1 1 

Florida 39 33 35 44 43 

Georgia : / / / / 

Kentucky 3 3 1 4 3 

Louisianaa 9 / 1 10 10 

Maryland : / / / / 

Mississippia 1 / 1 0 1 

North Carolinab 16 14 15 19 / 

Oklahomab 9 11 13 3 / 

South Carolinac 3 6 0 0 5 

Tennesseea 2 / 0 4 3 

Texas 47 49 40 48 49 

Virginia 11 6 14 10 14 

West Virginia 2 2 3 2 0 

West 122 116 115 122 135 

Alaska 2 0 3 2 1 
Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Arizona 16 12 13 16 21 

California 52 48 50 46 63 

Colorado 11 12 9 12 9 

Hawaii 2 0 2 2 2 

Idaho 1 2 1 1 1 

Montana : / / / / 

Nevadad : 2 / / / 

New Mexico 7 7 9 7 6 

Oregon 11 13 9 9 11 

Utah 8 5 10 9 7 

Washington 14 14 9 18 14 

Wyomingd : 1 / / / 

Note: Some death records identified multiple arresting agencies. As a result, 

the number of arresting agencies may exceed the number of arrest-related 

deaths. 

/Not reported. 

:Not calculated; less than two years of data reported. 

aReported data for 2004-2006; did not report 2003 data.

bReported data for 2003-2005; did not report 2006 data.

c2006 data exclude quarter 1.

dReported data for 2003; did not report data for 2004-2006.

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 See also Methodology

Table 10. Arrest-related deaths, by most serious offense, 2003-2006

Most serious offense

Arrest-related deaths, 2003-2006

Number Percent

 All offenses 2,686 100%

Violent offenses 1,546 57.6%

Homicide 239 8.9

Murder of a law enforcement officer 9 0.3

Attempted murder of a law enforcement 

 officer 138 5.1

Other murder/manslaughter 92 3.4

Kidnapping 56 2.1

Sexual assaulta 20 0.7

Robbery 138 5.1

Assault 1,033 38.5

Assault on a law enforcement officer 385 14.3

Domestic violenceb 80 3.0

Other assault 568 21.1

Other violent 60 2.2

Property offenses 198 7.4%

Burglary 67 2.5

Larceny 22 0.8

Motor vehicle theft 30 1.1

Fraud 12 0.4

Other propertyc 67 2.5

Drug offenses 196 7.3%

Possession 129 4.8

Trafficking 44 1.6

Other drug 23 0.9

Public-order offenses 364 13.6%

Weapons 43 1.6

Obstruction of justice 110 4.1

Obstruction of law enforcement 

 activities 68 2.5

Obstruction of court activities 42 1.6

Traffic violations 48 1.8

Driving while intoxicated 36 1.3

Drunkenness, disorderly conduct 91 3.4

Probation/parole violation, escape 26 1.0

Immigration 1 --

Other public-order 9 0.3

No criminal charges intended 102 3.8%

Mental health transport 58 2.2

Medical transport 12 0.4

Unspecified 32 1.2

Offense not reported 280 10.4%

--Less than 0.05%. 

aIncludes rape and other sexual assault.

bSome domestic violence cases may be reported as assaults.

cIncludes arson and stolen property.

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Table 11. Percent of arrest-related deaths, by most serious offense and cause of death, 2003-2006 

Most serious offense 

Cause of death, 2003-2006

All causes Homicide

Drug/alcohol

intoxication Suicide Accident Illness

Other/

unknown

 All offenses 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Violent offenses 57.6% 75.3% 28.1 % 52.6% 25.3% 23.7% 27.7%

Homicide 8.9 13.0 0.0 10.0 1.6 0.0 2.4

 Murder of a law enforcement officer 0.3 0.5 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0

Attempted murder of a law 

 enforcement officer 5.1 8.3 0.0 1.4 1.1 0.0 1.5

 Other murder/manslaughter 3.4 4.2 0.0 8.3 0.5 0.0 1.0

Kidnapping 2.1 2.8 0.9 2.8 0.0 0.0 1.0

Sexual assaulta 0.7 0.6 0.3 3.1 0.0 0.7 0.0

Robbery 5.1 7.2 1.3 4.8 1.6 1.4 1.5

Assault 38.5 49.1 23.7 29.1 21.4 19.4 21.8

Assault on a law enforcement officer 14.3 18.2 9.5 6.2 10.4 8.6 11.7

Domestic violenceb 3.0 2.4 2.2 7.3 2.7 3.6 1.9

 Other assault 21.1 28.5 12.0 15.6 8.2 7.2 8.3

Other violent 2.2 2.6 1.9 2.8 0.5 2.2 1.0

Property offenses 7.4% 3.6 % 14.2 % 10.0% 13.2% 17.3% 9.7%

Burglary 2.5 1.4 4.4 2.1 3.8 4.3 5.8

Larceny 0.8 0.4 1.9 1.7 0.5 2.2 0.5

Motor vehicle theft 1.1 0.9 0.3 1.7 3.8 2.2 0.0

Fraud 0.4 0.1 0.3 1.7 1.1 2.2 0.0

Other propertyc 2.5 0.8 7.3 2.8 3.8 6.5 3.4

Drug offenses 7.3% 2.6 % 19.2 % 5.5% 18.7% 16.5% 10.7%

Possession 4.8 1.2 15.8 3.1 9.3 11.5 9.2

Trafficking 1.6 1.0 1.6 1.7 7.1 2.9 0.5

Other drug 0.9 0.4 1.9 0.7 2.2 2.2 1.0

Public-order offenses 13.6% 7.0 % 22.4 % 23.2% 27.5% 30.2% 12.1%

Weapons 1.6 1.7 0.9 3.1 0.5 2.2 0.5

Obstruction of justice 4.1 2.2 6.3 6.6 11.0 4.3 5.3

Obstruction of law enforcement 

 activities 2.5 1.4 4.1 3.1 8.2 2.9 2.9

 Obstruction of court activities 1.6 0.8 2.2 3.5 2.7 1.4 2.4

Traffic violations 1.8 0.8 2.8 3.5 4.9 4.3 0.5

Driving while intoxicated 1.3 0.6 0.6 2.8 4.4 5.8 0.0

Drunkenness, disorderly conduct 3.4 0.8 11.4 4.2 3.8 10.1 4.4

Probation/parole violation, escape 1.0 0.6 0.3 2.1 2.2 2.2 1.5

Immigration -- 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0

Other public-order 0.3 0.3 0.0 1.0 0.0 1.4 0.0

No criminal charges intended 3.8% 2.3 % 9.1 % 3.8% 1.6% 8.6% 5.3%

Mental health transport 2.2 1.0 5.4 2.8 1.6 4.3 3.9

Medical transport 0.4 0.1 1.9 0.7 0.0 0.7 0.5

Unspecified 1.2 1.2 1.9 0.3 0.0 3.6 1.0

Offense not reported 10.4% 9.2% 6.9% 4.8% 13.7% 3.6% 34.5%

Number of deaths 2,686 1,553 317 289 182 139 206 

Note: Detail may not add to totals due to rounding. 

--Less than 0.05%.

aIncludes rape and other sexual assault.

bSome domestic violence cases may be reported as assaults.

cIncludes arson and stolen property.
Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

· Local jail deaths

· State and local law 

enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State and local law enforcement arrest-related deaths, 2003-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 12. Number of arrest-related deaths, by characteristics of the law enforcement agency involved and cause of 

death, 2003-2006 

Cause of death, 2003-2006

All causes Homicide

Drug/alcohol

intoxication Suicide Accident Illness

Other/

unknown

 All deaths 2,686 1,553 317 289 182 139 206 

Type of agency involved in arrest* 

 Sheriff's office 541 325 46 61 40 17 52

 Local police department 1,952 1,104 258 205 127 112 146

 State police/highway patrol 150 99 9 21 11 5 5

 Special jurisdiction police 23 13 3 1 3 3 0

 Constables 7 5 1 0 0 1 0

Number of full-time sworn personnel 

employed by the agency involved* 

1–9 68 33 4 13 5 6 7

10–24 130 62 15 31 7 7 8

25–49 217 120 15 45 15 12 10

50–99 243 132 28 30 21 13 19

100–249 383 215 56 32 30 19 31

250–499 325 194 39 24 23 15 30

500–999 290 170 36 34 24 8 18

1,000 or more 1,014 616 124 79 57 58 80

Note: Detail may not sum to totals due to missing data. 

* In cases involving multiple arresting agencies, the characteristics of the largest agency are reported. 

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Deaths in Custody 

Statistical Tables

· State prison deaths

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enforcement arrestrelated deaths

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

State and local law enforcement arrest-related deaths, 2003-2006 

Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program. 

 See also Methodology

Table 13. Percent of arrest-related deaths, by characteristics of the law enforcement agency involved and cause 

of death, 2003-2006 

Cause of death, 2003-2006

All causes Homicide

Drug/alcohol

intoxication Suicide Accident Illness

Other/ 

unknown

 All deaths 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %

Type of agency involved in arrest* 

 Sheriff's office 20.2 % 21.0 % 14.5 % 21.2 % 22.1 % 12.3 % 25.6 %

 Local police department 73.0 71.4 81.4 71.2 70.2 81.2 71.9

 State police/highway patrol 5.6 6.4 2.8 7.3 6.1 3.6 2.5

 Special jurisdiction police 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.3 1.7 2.2 0.0

 Constables 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.0

Number of full-time sworn personnel 

employed by the agency involved* 

1–9 2.5 % 2.1 % 1.3 % 4.5 % 2.7 % 4.3 % 3.4 %

10–24 4.9 4.0 4.7 10.8 3.8 5.1 3.9

25–49 8.1 7.8 4.7 15.6 8.2 8.7 4.9

50–99 9.1 8.6 8.8 10.4 11.5 9.4 9.4

100–249 14.3 13.9 17.7 11.1 16.5 13.8 15.3

250–499 12.2 12.6 12.3 8.3 12.6 10.9 14.8

500–999 10.9 11.0 11.4 11.8 13.2 5.8 8.9

1,000 or more 38.0 39.9 39.1 27.4 31.3 42.0 39.4

Number of deaths 2,686 1,553 317 289 182 139 206

* In cases involving multiple arresting agencies, the characteristics of the largest agency are reported. 

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Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables

Methodology 

BJS Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) – Local jail inmate death data 

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) began collecting inmate death records from jail jurisdictions nationwide in December 

2000 to implement the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 (PL 106-297). Data on inmate deaths were requested at the end 

of each calendar quarter (form CJ-9 for local jails, form CJ-10 for private or multi-jurisdictional jails). Jails were also asked to 

submit inmate population and admission counts at the end of each calendar year which allowed for the calculation of inmate 

mortality rates (forms CJ-9A and CJ-10A). As part of the yearend collection of population data, jails were asked for a yearend 

count of inmate deaths which were reconciled with quarterly reports to identify missing records. Jails with missing death records 

were asked to submit the records on a separate quarterly death report form. 

Jails were instructed to report the death of any inmate in their custody, even if the inmate was held for other jurisdictions, such 

as the state department of corrections, another state or county, or the Federal government. Jails were also instructed to include 

the death of any inmate sent outside the jail facility for medical, mental health or substance abuse treatment services or for 

work-release programs. Deaths that occurred while an inmate was in transit to or from the jail facility were included. Deaths of 

jail inmates who were released on temporary furloughs or who had escaped the jail facility were excluded. 

From the beginning of the collection in 2000, as agent for BJS, the Governments Division of the U.S. Census Bureau collected 

both the quarterly death records and the yearend collection of population and admissions data from all jail jurisdictions 

nationwide. If a final determination of cause of death could not be made at the time of reporting, respondents were asked to 

indicate that autopsy reports were pending. Jurisdictions with incomplete records were contacted again over the following 12 

months to obtain final cause of death data. In each year (2000 through 2006), at least 99% of the more than 3,000 jail 

jurisdictions nationwide responded to the collection. 

For local jail survey forms, see Deaths in Custody survey questionnaires. 

BJS Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) – State prisoner death data

BJS began collecting inmate death records from state prison authorities nationwide in 2001 to implement the Death in Custody 

Reporting Act of 2000 (PL 106-297). State departments of correction were asked to submit a quarterly report of all deaths at the 

end of each calendar quarter. States were also asked to submit a quarterly summary count of deaths (form NPS-4) and an 

individual report of each inmate death (form NPS-4A). If a final determination of cause of death could not be made at the time of 

reporting, respondents were asked to indicate that autopsy reports were pending. Jurisdictions with incomplete records were 

contacted again over the following 12 months to obtain final cause of death data. 

State prisons were instructed to report the deaths of any inmate in their custody, even if the inmate was held for other 

jurisdictions, such as a county jail, another state, or the Federal government. State prisoner death counts include the death of 

any inmate held in a private prison facility under contract to the state’s department of correction. Deaths of inmates in private 

facilities were counted in the state that had jurisdiction over the inmate, not the state where the private facility was located. 

State prisons were also instructed to include the death of any inmate sent outside the prison facility for medical, mental health 

or substance abuse treatment services or for work-release programs. Deaths that occurred while a state prisoner was in transit 

to or from the prison were included. Deaths of state prisoners who were released on temporary furloughs or who had escaped 

the prison facility were excluded. All execution deaths were excluded from the collection because capital punishment cases are 

already tracked under the National Prisoners Statistics program. 

This data collection was conducted by BJS staff during 2001 and 2002 and by data collection staff of Governments Division of 

the U.S. Census Bureau for BJS since 2003. In each year (2001 through 2006), all 50 state departments of correction 

responded to the collection. The District of Columbia submitted data for its prison population until transferring all of their custody 

operations to the Federal Bureau of Prisons during 2001. Federal prisons are not covered by PL 106-297 and these tables do 

not include mortality data on Federal prisoners. 

For state prisoner survey forms, see Deaths in Custody survey questionnaires. 

BJS Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) – State and local law enforcement arrest-related death data

The Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-297) required the U.S. Department of Justice to begin a quarterly 

collection of individual death records for all persons incarcerated in State or local correctional facilities, as well as “any person 

who is in the process of arrest.” The act linked eligibility for funds under the Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth In 

Sentencing (VOI/TIS) grant programs to reporting death records to the Attorney General. At the time the law was enacted, all 

50 states and the District of Columbia participated in the VOI/TIS grant programs. The act did not apply to Federal law 
enforcement agencies or the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

Identifying State-level data providers

In developing the collection of arrest-related death records, BJS staff contacted multiple offices in each state to determine the 

appropriate reporting contact. While each state was required to report these death records as a condition of eligibility for 

VOI/TIS grant funds, the grants were awarded to state departments of correction. In developing the collection, BJS did not find

any state correctional authorities that collected information on the operations of law enforcement agencies in their state. 

At the time the Death in Custody Reporting Act was passed, only two states (California and Texas) collected information on all 

types of arrest-related deaths. For the remaining 48 states and the District of Columbia, the new DCRP collection was the first

attempt to perform a comprehensive count of all arrest-related deaths. 

In California and Texas, state statutes required the reporting of all arrest-related deaths to the state attorney general’s office. 

These offices agreed to complete statewide reports of arrest-related deaths for submission to BJS. In all other jurisdictions, BJS 

worked with state officials to determine which agency would collect arrest-related death reports. 

A state criminal justice commission, commonly administered by the governor’s office, was the most common data reporting 

contact (22 States), followed by the state attorney general and state police department (8 states each). In five states, the 

department of corrections took a lead role in compiling records because of the VOI/TIS grant funding. In over 30 states, the 

reporting office also served as a state criminal justice Statistical Analysis Center (SAC). 

While every state identified a data provider, three states — Georgia, Maryland, and Montana — never submitted records. Fortyseven states and the District of Columbia participated in the collection at some point, but the participation of some states varied 

by year. A total of 43 states participated in 2003, 45 states participated in both 2004 and 2005, and 43 states participated in

2006. The District of Columbia submitted records in all four years. For a summary of State reporting coverage, see statistical 

tables 7 and 9. 

Many of the arrest-related deaths undergo lengthy investigations by prosecutors, police departments, and coroner’s offices to 

determine a cause of death or decide a legal disposition of the case. It took up to 15 months to finalize cause of death 

information for some cases. Multiple contacts were made to the state data providers to complete missing items and receive a 

final cause of death. 

Data sources for State reporters

Regardless of which state office ultimately took the lead in compiling the death records, most states utilized multiple data 

sources in this effort. Of the 47 states that participated at some point, 42 used multiple sources of information on arrest-related 

deaths, while 30 states reported at least 3 different sources of data. (For a detailed listing of reporting methods used by each 

state, see pages 9 and 10 of the online version of the BJS Special Report, Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-

2005.) 

State and local law enforcement agencies were the most common source of data used by state reporters. Law enforcement 

agencies voluntarily reported arrest-related deaths to 40 data providers. In California and Texas, law enforcement agencies 

were required by state law to submit arrest-related death records. The Metropolitan Police Department was the only source of 

arrest-related data for the District of Columbia. 

Thirty states used media searches to identify arrest-related deaths and followed up with a data request to the law enforcement 

agency involved in the incident. In some cases when the agency did not respond to this information request, the state contact 

used the media accounts of the death to complete the DCRP questionnaire. Twenty-three states involved county coroners or 

the state medical examiner’s office in compiling these records, and 19 states involved the state police. Nine states used their

Uniform Crime Reporting office, and 6 states collected information from prosecutors’ offices. Seven states used other resources

or agencies in compiling these reports. 

Defining deaths “in the process of arrest”

BJS had to define the term “in the process of arrest,” specified in the Death in Custody Reporting Act (PL 106-297). BJS staff 

consulted with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), and criminal

justice researchers to identify which circumstances involved an “arrest process.” 

All deaths of persons in the physical custody or under the physical restraint of law enforcement officers were included. This 

resulted in the reporting of 102 deaths over four years in which no criminal charges were involved. Law enforcement responses 

Agencies reporting DCRP 

arrest-related death records 

 All data providers 48 

State criminal justice commission 22 

State attorney general 8 

State police/highway patrol 8 

State department of correction 5 

State medical examiner 3 

State department of public safety 1 

State office of financial management 1 
to people exhibiting mental health problems accounted for 58 of these cases, while another 12 cases involved persons who had 

to be restrained by police for medical transportation. In another 32 cases, the reason for law enforcement involvement was not 

specified, but the record indicated that no criminal charges were involved. The deaths of any other persons not subject to an 

attempted arrest were excluded, including bystanders and law enforcement officers killed during an attempted arrest. 

State contacts were instructed to include all deaths resulting from use of force by law enforcement officers. Arrest-related 

suicides were also included in this collection, provided that law enforcement officers were in some type of contact with the 

arrest subject prior to the suicide. For example, if an armed suspect was surrounded by officers and chose to take his own life

rather than surrender, the death would be included. However, if an offender was actively sought by police but committed suicide

before the police located him, the death would be excluded. The reason for the exclusion is that no officers were present at the 

time of death to attempt an arrest. 

Vehicular accident deaths that were not specifically related to arrest activities were excluded from the collection. States were 

instructed to include vehicular accident deaths only when law enforcement officers actively took some role in causing the 

accident during an arrest attempt. This included shooting at the vehicle or driver or forcing the vehicle off the road with a police 

vehicle or other obstructions (such as a spike strip to blow out tires or a roadblock). All other vehicular deaths were excluded. 

States were also instructed to disregard whether an arrest warrant had been issued. Because officers frequently make arrests 

in response to unexpected events, requiring an arrest warrant would leave many arrest-related deaths unreported. Likewise, 

states were told to exclude the deaths of persons who had arrest warrants issued against them that were not enforced. For 

example, if an offender had a bench warrant issued for their arrest, but later died before any officers attempted to enforce this 

arrest warrant, the state was told to exclude that record. In such cases, the arrest warrant indicated an administrative criminal 

justice status and not an attempt to bring the subject into custody. 

Deaths of arrestees were subject to the data collection from the time police encountered them in the field until the time they 

were booked into a local jail facility. This included deaths of arrest subjects who died at medical facilities due to injuries or 

medical problems, as well as any persons who died in transit from an arrest scene in a police vehicle or ambulance. All deaths 

in jails are reported to BJS under a separate DCRP collection with different questionnaires. 

Once records of arrest-related deaths were submitted to BJS, the forms were reviewed to ensure that each case met the 

established guidelines. BJS staff and the State contacts routinely discussed and resolved cases that were ambiguous or 

appeared to involve circumstances that would exclude them from the collection. Since the publication of the report ArrestRelated Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005, BJS has also undertaken an intensive review of DCRP jail death records to 

search for records reported to multiple DCRP collections. This review identified 26 arrest-related death records submitted 

during the 2003-2005 period that were also reported as jail inmate deaths (1.3% of the 2,002 deaths reported). In the interest of 

avoiding double-counts of the same events, these deaths have been excluded from the statistical tables presented for the 

2003-2006 period. As a result, counts of deaths presented in the statistical tables for 2003-2005 may not match those published

earlier. 

Other national measures of arrest-related deaths 

While DCRP is the only national statistical program that measures all types of arrest-related deaths, two other national 

programs measure law enforcement homicides. Law enforcement agencies can submit Supplementary Homicide Reports 

(SHR) as part of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) also compiles mortality statistics, including a category for law enforcement 

homicides. For a detailed discussion of these resources and how their measures of arrest-related deaths differ from the DCRP, 

please see the BJS Special Report, Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005. 

For state and local law enforcement arrest-related death survey forms, see Deaths in Custody survey questionnaires. 

BJS home page | Top of this page

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