Mike Collins: “The Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 directed the Bureau of Justice Statistics within the Department of Justice to…”

“The Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 directed the Bureau of Justice Statistics within the Department of Justice to collect data on the deaths that occur at two important stages in the criminal justice system: first, deaths that occur in the process of arrest or during the transfer after arrest; and, second, deaths that occur in jails and prisons. The provisions of that act expired in December 2006. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 885 inmates died in the custody of local jails in 2011. This is the lowest number of jail inmate deaths in the 12-year history of the Deaths in Custody Reporting program. Nearly nine out of 10 State prisoner deaths were as a result of natural causes, the leading reason being cancer and heart disease. Although illness-related deaths have increased slightly in recent years, the homicide and suicide rates in State prisons have dramatically decreased over the last 25 years. H.R. 1447 reauthorizes this data collection program and directs the Attorney General not only to collect the data, but also to study the data to determine how to reduce deaths in custody in the future. The legislation extends the reporting requirements to deaths that occur in Federal custody. Although the Death in Custody Reporting Act expired in 2006, the Bureau of Justice Statistics has continued to collect this data.…”