Federal Deaths in Custody and During Arrest, 2023 – Statistical Tables

• NCJ Number: 310401
• Author(s): Sean E. Goodison, PhD, BJS Statistician; Charlotte Lopez-Jauffret, PhD, BJS Statistician
• Date Published: July 2025
• Publication Series: Federal Deaths in Custody and During Arrest
• Publication Type: Publication

Description

This report is the sixth in a series in response to the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) of 2013 (P.L. 113–242) that requires federal law enforcement agencies to report information about the death of any person who dies while detained, under arrest, being arrested, or in the custody of federal law enforcement officers. It describes decedent, incident, and facility characteristics for deaths in federal custody and during arrest by federal law enforcement agencies during fiscal year 2023.

Highlights

In FY 2023:

• Homicides accounted for the largest portion (41%) of arrest-related deaths, followed by accidents (32%) and suicides (19%).
• In arrest-related deaths, 84% of decedents were male, 76% were white, and 53% were ages 25 to 44.
• In 48% of arrest-related deaths, law enforcement officers were serving a warrant when they made initial contact with the decedent.
• A violent offense was the most serious offense allegedly committed by decedents in 40% of arrest-related deaths.