Assessing Inmate Cause of Death: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program and National Death Index

• NCJ Number: 249568
• Date Published: April 2016
• Author(s): Zhen Zeng, Ph.D., Bureau of Justice Statistics; Margaret E. Noonan, Bureau of Justice Statistics; E. Ann Carson, Ph.D., Bureau of Justice Statistics; Ingrid Binswanger, M.D., Bureau of Justice Statistics; Patrick Blatchford, Ph.D., Colorado School of Public Health; Hope Smiley-McDonald, Ph.D., RTI International; Chris Ellis, RTI International
• Publication Type: Publication

Annotation

Provides a technical review of the coverage and quality of inmate cause of death data collected under BJS's Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

Abstract

Provides a technical review of the coverage and quality of inmate cause of death data collected under BJS's Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP). Records of inmates who died in jail and prison from 2007 to 2010 were matched to the National Death Index (NDI). This report examines match rates, compares underlying cause of death, and assesses sources of disagreement between the DCRP and NDI.