U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics ------------------------------------------------------- This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all reports in the series go to http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbse&sid=76 This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.csv) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available on BJS website at:http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4757 -------------------------------------------------------- ******************* Statistical Tables ******************* Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2011 - Statistical Tables Margaret E. Noonan, BJS Statistician In 2011, 4,238 inmates died while in the custody of local jails or state prisons, an increase of 2% or 88 deaths from 2010. A total of 885 deaths (21%) occurred in local jails. Overall, jails reported 33 fewer deaths in 2011 than in 2010. Heart disease and suicide continued to be the two leading causes of death in local jails, accounting for more than half (61%) of all jail deaths in 2011. The mortality rate in jails (122 deaths per 100,000 inmates) declined 2% from 2010 to 2011, continuing a general decline in mortality rates that was first observed in 2008. Heart disease and suicide mortality rates remained relatively stable between 2010 and 2011. Over the 12-year period between 2000 and 2011, suicide accounted for an annual average of 41 deaths per 100,000 jail inmates, while heart disease accounted for 31 deaths per 100,000. To account for single-year fluctuations that are common in mortality data, 3-year moving averages were calculated for selected causes of death in jails and prisons. Figures display the most recent year for trend estimates based on 3-year moving averages centered on the middle year. For example, estimates reported for 2010 represent the average estimates from 2009 through 2011. The 3-year moving average for heart disease remained relatively stable, varying between 27 and 34 deaths per 100,000 jail inmates (figure 1). For suicide, the rate varied between 34 and 48 deaths per 100,000 inmates. (See Methodology for more information on moving averages.) The majority of jails (81%) reported zero deaths in 2011, which was consistent with an annual average of 82% of jails reporting zero deaths between 2000 and 2011. Approximately 13% of jails reported a single death, and 6% of jails reported two or more deaths in 2011. In 2011, deaths in prisons (3,353 deaths) accounted for approximately 80% of all deaths in local jails and state prisons. Deaths in state prisons increased by 121 from 2010 to 2011, which accounted for the overall net increase of inmate deaths in local jails and state prisons. Cancer and heart disease were the two leading causes of death in state prisons in 2011, accounting for more than half (56%) of deaths in state prisons. Mortality rates in state prisons have been nearly stable since 2001. The mortality rate for both cancer and heart disease was 65 deaths per 100,000 prisoners between 2001 and 2011. Among prisoners, the 3-year moving average mortality rate for heart disease remained relatively constant from 2002 to 2010, while the 3-year moving average mortality rate for cancer began to increase in 2008 (figure 2). The data in this report were developed from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP), an annual data collection about inmate deaths in local jails and state prisons. The program began collecting data from jails in 2000 and from prisons in 2001. This report covers deaths in custody occurring in local jails and state prisons between 2000 and 2011. Statistical tables provide information about the causes and circumstances of local jail and state prison inmate deaths and present trends by cause of death, selected decedent characteristics, and mortality rates for jails and prisons inmates by states. ************************** Mortality in local jails ************************** Cause of death *************** * The number of deaths in local jails decreased from 918 deaths in 2010 to 885 deaths in 2011 (table 1). * Heart disease accounted for about a quarter (26%) of deaths in local jails in 2011 (table 2). * After an initial decline in 2008, the mortality rate for jail inmates has remained relatively unchanged (125 deaths per 100,000 inmates in 2010 and 122 per 100,000 in 2011). Likewise, the mortality rate showed little variation from 2000 to 2007, increasing or decreasing between 1% and 3% (table 3). * The illness-related mortality rate decreased approximately 10% between 2010 and 2011, driven by a 50% decrease in the AIDS-related mortality rate. * The suicide rate in local jails declined over time, from 49 suicide deaths per 100,000 inmates in 2001 to 36 per 100,000 in 2007. Excluding 2008 data, the rate increased 18% from 2007 to reach 43 suicides per 100,000 inmates in 2011. (See Methodology for more information about 2008 data.) Decedent characteristics ************************* * Males accounted for nearly 9 in 10 (87%) deaths in local jails in 2011. Whites accounted for more than half (59%) of local jail deaths in the same year (table 5). * Males and females died at nearly equal rates in local jails in 2011 (table 6). * The mortality rate for black inmates (89 per 100,000) in 2011 was the lowest observed mortality rate among black inmates since the DCRP began collecting data in 2000. * Consistently each year since 2000, the jail mortality rate increased with inmates’ age. In 2011, jail inmates age 55 and older died at a rate (650 deaths per 100,000) that was about three times the rate for younger inmates. * In 2011, more than a third (39%) of deaths occurred within the first week of admission to the jail facility. * Between 2000 and 2011, about half of suicides (48%) and a third (32%) of heart disease deaths occurred within the first week of admission. More than a fifth of AIDS-related deaths (22%) and more than a third of cancer deaths (38%) occurred after 6 months of admission (table 7). * Between 2000 and 2011, male jail inmates were 1.6 times more likely to commit suicide than female inmates. Female jail inmates were nearly twice as likely as males to die of drug or alcohol intoxication (table 8). Facility characteristics ************************* * In 2011, 8 in 10 jails (81%) reported zero deaths to the DCRP. From 2000 to 2011, an annual average of 82% of jails reported zero deaths (table 9). * About 20% of all jails reported one or more deaths in 2011. Among these jails, 67% reported a single death. * Together, California, Florida, New York, and Texas reported about a third of jail deaths in 2011. These states also had the largest jail populations, comprising 31% of the total jail population (table 10). * About half of all jail jurisdictions in California, Maryland, New Jersey, and West Virginia reported at least one death in 2011 (table 13). Moving averages **************** * The heart disease mortality rate was generally higher in the years prior to 2005 (appendix table 2). * Among white inmates, the mortality rate for heart disease was at least 40 deaths per 100,000 prior to 2007. After a period of decline, the rate increased from 37 to 45 deaths per 100,000 white inmates between 2010 and 2011. * Overall, the mortality rate for heart disease among inmates age 55 or older declined from 2003 to 2008, then increased after 2009. The rate in 2010 (279 per 100,000) was still lower than rates observed prior to 2006. * The suicide rate increased in 2009 and 2010, after small declines between 2002 and 2008 (appendix table 4). * Between 2006 and 2008, male jail inmates committed suicide at a rate that was about twice that of female jail inmates, while the suicide rates for male and female jail inmates were more similar in 2010. * From 2000 to 2010, the suicide rate for white inmates was at least 3 times higher than the rate for inmates of other races or Hispanic origin. *************************** Mortality in state prisons *************************** Cause of death *************** * The number of inmates who died in the custody of state prisons increased 4%, from 3,232 deaths in 2010 to 3,353 in 2011 (table 14). * In 2011, cancer was the most common cause of death in prisons, followed by heart disease, liver disease, respiratory disease, and AIDS-related deaths. As with previous years, cancer and heart disease accounted for more than half (56%) of all prison deaths in 2011 (table 15). * The illness-related mortality rate among state prisoners increased 4% in 2011. This increase was driven by the cancer mortality rate, which increased 11% between 2010 (70 per 100,000) and 2011 (78 per 100,000) (table 16). * In 2011, the cancer mortality rate in state prisons (78 per 100,000) exceeded the heart disease mortality rate (65 per 100,000) for the fourth consecutive year. * The AIDS-related mortality rate among state prisoners declined 22% from 2010 to 2011 and has declined 81% since 2001. Decedent characteristics ************************* * In 2011, male prisoners accounted for more than 96% of prison deaths. The number of female inmates dying in state prisons has been relatively stable at an annual average of 133 deaths each year between 2001 and 2011 (table 17). * White prisoners accounted for about half of prison inmate deaths in any single year between 2001 and 2010, and for 57% of deaths in 2011. Black inmates accounted for about a third of prisoner deaths in any single year between 2001 and 2011, and for 31% of deaths in 2011 (table 18). * Between 2001 and 2011, the female prisoner mortality rate fluctuated from 127 to 172 deaths per 100,000 female prisoners. In 2011, the male prisoner mortality rate was 1.6 times higher than the female prisoner mortality rate (table 20). Cause of death by decedent characteristics ******************************************* * Mortality rates for cancer, heart disease, liver disease, and accidents were about twice the rates for male prisoners than for female prisoners (table 22). * Between 2001 and 2011, black state prisoners (8 per 100,000) committed suicide at about a third of the rate of white state prisoners (25 per 100,000). * Among both natural and unnatural deaths, the age of inmates was strongly associated with high mortality rates: * Prisoners age 55 and older died of cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease at rates that were at least 5 times higher than for any other age group. * The homicide rate among prisoners age 55 or older was 2 to 3 times higher than for prisoners ages 18 to 44. The accident-related mortality rate for prisoners age 55 or older was at least 2.5 times higher than for younger inmates. Deaths by jurisdiction *********************** * Between 2010 and 2011, more than a third (20 of 50) of state departments of correction reported a decrease in the number of deaths in state prisons (table 23). * The mortality rate among federal prisoners decreased 2%, from 224 deaths per 100,000 federal prisoners in 2010 to 220 deaths per 100,000 in 2011 (table 24). Cause of death by state ************************ * The average annual mortality rate for state prisoners between 2001 and 2011 varied by state from 152 deaths per 100,000 inmates in 2001 to 450 deaths per 100,000 inmates in 2011, with a median rate of 243 deaths per 100,000 inmates (table 26). * Mortality rates by cause of death may not be directly comparable between states due to differences in age, sex, race, geographic location, or any other characteristic of the correctional popluation. Moving averages **************** * The cancer mortality rate increased for both male (up 22%) and female (up 79%) prisoners from 2002 to 2010. The cancer mortality rate for female prisoners showed the greatest increase, from 26 deaths per 100,000 in 2002 to 47 deaths per 100,000 in 2010 (appendix table 6). * The cancer mortality rate for white and black prisoners steadily increased from 2002 to 2010. The rate for white prisoners increased 33%, and the rate for black prisoners increased 24% during the period. * The liver disease mortality rate for state prisoners remained nearly unchanged from 2002 to 2010 (appendix table 8). * From 2001 to 2011, black prisoners had the lowest liver disease mortality rate (between 13 and 15 deaths per 100,000 inmates). * Suicide rates among state prisoners were relatively stable from 2002 to 2010. White inmates committed suicide at a higher rate than prisoners of other races or Hispanic origin. The suicide rate for white inmates was at least 1.3 times higher than the rate of Hispanic inmates and 3 times higher than the suicide rate of black inmates (appendix table 11). ***************************************************** **************** List of tables *************** Table 1 Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000–2011 7 Table 2 Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000–2011 7 Table 3 Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death, 2000–2011 8 Table 4 Number of local jail inmate deaths, by selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2011 9 Table 5 Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2011 10 Table 6 Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2011 11 Table 7 Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2011 12 Table 8 Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death and selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2011 13 Table 9 Number and percent of jail jurisdictions reporting to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP), by number of deaths reported each year, 2000–2011 14 Table 10 Number of jail deaths, by state, 2000–2011 15 Table 11 Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by state, 2000–2011 16 Table 12 Number of local jail inmates held on an average day, by state, 2000–2011 17 Table 13 Percent of jail jurisdictions reporting one or more deaths to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP), by state, 2000–2011 18 Table 14 Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001–2011 19 Table 15 Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001–2011 19 Table 16 Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death, 2001–2011 20 Table 17 Number of state prisoner deaths, by selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 20 Table 18 Percent of state prisoner deaths, by selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 21 Table 19 Estimated number of state prisoners in custody, by selected inmate characteristics, 2001–2011 21 Table 20 Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 22 Table 21 Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 22 Table 22 Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 23 Table 23 Number of state and federal prisoner deaths, by location, 2001–2011 24 Table 24 Mortality rate per 100,000 state and federal prisoners, by location, 2001–2011 25 Table 25 Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and location, 2001–2011 26 Table 26 Average mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and location, 2001–2011 27 ***************************************************** ***************************************************** ************************* List of appendix tables ************************* Appendix table 1 Illness mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2011 33 Appendix table 2 Heart disease mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2011 34 Appendix table 3 All other illnesses mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2011 35 Appendix table 4 Suicide moving average mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2011 36 Appendix table 5 Illness mortality rate per 100,000 state prison inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 37 Appendix table 6 Cancer mortality rate per 100,000 state prison inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 37 Appendix table 7 Heart disease mortality rate per 100,000 state prison inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 38 Appendix table 8 Liver disease mortality rate per 100,000 state prison inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 38 Appendix table 9 Respiratory disease mortality rate per 100,000 state prison inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 39 Appendix table 10 All other illnesses mortality rate per 100,000 state prison inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 39 Appendix table 11 Suicide mortality rate per 100,000 state prison inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2001–2011 40 ***************************************************** ************ Methodology ************ Data collection coverage ************************* The Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) is an annual Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data collection. The DCRP collects national, state, and incident-level data on persons who died while in the physical custody of the 50 state departments of corrections or the approximately 2,800 local adult jail jurisdictions nationwide. The DCRP began in 2000 under the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 (P.L. 106- 297), and it is the only national statistical collection to obtain comprehensive information about deaths in adult correctional facilities. BJS uses DCRP data to track national trends in the number and causes (or manners) of deaths occurring in state prison or local jail custody. Mortality data measured by the DCRP include decedent characteristics, such as sex, race and Hispanic origin, age, date of admission, conviction status, admission offense, and the location and type of facility (prison or jail) where the inmate died. The DCRP also collects data about circumstances surrounding the death, including the cause, time and location where the death occurred, and information on whether an autopsy was conducted and the availability of results to the respondent. In cases of deaths due to illness, the DCRP collects data on whether the decedent had a preexisting medical condition for which he or she received medical treatment prior to death. Data on executions are excluded from this report but are accessible on the BJS website along with the DCRP mortality data. Statistics presented in this report are current as of March 1, 2013. For more information on mortality in correctional settings, see Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007, NCJ 222988, BJS web, July 2010; Medical Causes of Death in State Prisons, 2001–2004, NCJ 216340, BJS web, January 2007; and Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails, NCJ 210036, BJS web, August 2005. The DCRP data collection instruments are administered annually to both state prisons and local jails. Respondents provide an aggregate count of the number of deaths that occurred during the referenced calendar year. State prison respondents provide aggregate counts through the National Prisoner Statistics data collection, and local jails provide aggregate counts through the Annual Survey of Jails. The jail (CJ-9) and prison (NPS-4A) survey instruments used to obtain data on each prison and jail death are available on the BJS website at www.bjs.gov. In addition to the death count, BJS requests jails to provide summary statistics about their population and admissions. All jails, including those with no deaths to report (which includes about 80% of jails in any given year) are asked to complete the annual summary survey form. BJS obtains a separate report describing the decedent’s characteristics and the circumstances surrounding the death for each death that occurred in a state prison or local jail. State prison and local jail respondents can submit individual records on decedents at any time during a collection cycle through a BJS web-based collection system. BJS has modified the survey instruments slightly over time, including changes to clarify questions and ease the burden on respondents. Several questions were added to capture information on any medical treatment that the inmate received prior to death. Changes also allowed respondents to elaborate on cause of death by adding text boxes to the intoxication, suicide, and inmate-involved homicide death questions. Previously, these fields had only been available for deaths due to illness, accident, homicides not caused by other inmates, and other unspecified causes. In addition, BJS clarified respondent instructions on the prison forms and removed a question collecting the conviction status of an inmate after an analysis showed that more than 99% of prison inmates were convicted at the time of death. BJS also streamlined the survey layout to simplify the progression through questions related to autopsies. Rather than initially submitting an incomplete instrument that indicated pending autopsy results, respondents were only permitted to complete the entire survey after autopsy results were available. This change reduced follow-up contact and the burden on respondents. Starting in 2001 and annually thereafter, BJS has collected DCRP data directly from state prison systems, maintaining a 100% response rate. Nonresponse ************* The jail universe includes all jails currently operating and jails that have been contacted for the DCRP but have closed, consolidated, or otherwise eliminated operations. This universe allows BJS to determine jail participation in the DCRP. The most recent jail universe, constructed in 2013, identified 2,812 jurisdictions representing 3,247 jail facilities. Of these, 2,747 (97.6%) participated in the DCRP, a slight decrease from the 98% to 99% participation in previous years. The congressionally mandated Death in Custody Act expired at yearend 2006. Starting in 2007, participation in DCRP became voluntary. As a result, some jail juridictions no longer report data to the program. Change in deaths over time may be affected by this change in reporting. A jail jurisdiction is a legal entity that has responsibility for managing jail facilities. Jail jurisdictions typically operate at the county level, in which a sheriff’s office or jail administrator manages the local facilities. The DCRP data identify the jail facility in which a jail inmate dies, but the data are arrayed at the jail jurisdiction level. BJS defines a jail as a locally operated correctional facility that confines persons before or after adjudication for more than 72 hours, excluding temporary lockups. Typically, there is one facility per jail jurisdiction, but the 2006 Census of Jail Facilities found that 15% of jail jurisdictions had multiple facilities under a central authority. (See the BJS website for more information.) Determining eligibility for reporting to the DCRP ************************************************** In the DCRP, custody refers to the holding of an inmate in a facility or to the period during which a correctional authority maintains a chain of custody over an inmate. For instance, if a jail transports an ill inmate to a hospital for medical services and that inmate dies while in the chain of custody of the jail, that death is counted as a death in custody. A death that occurs when an inmate is not in the custody of a correctional authority is considered beyond the scope of the DCRP. Out-of-scope deaths include inmates on escape status or under the supervision of community corrections on probation, parole, or home-electronic monitoring. BJS instructs both state prison and local jail officials to determine whether the inmate was in the physical custody of the jurisdiction at the time of death, regardless of the reason an inmate was being held. For state prisons responding to the survey, inmates in physical custody include those held in any private prison facility under contract to the responding state’s department of corrections or in any of their state-operated facilities, including halfway houses, prison camps or farms, training or treatment centers, and prison hospitals. BJS instructs state prison officials to exclude deaths of inmates who were transferred to local jails while still serving a prison term because the DCRP obtains information about such deaths through the jail reports. Jail inmate custody includes inmates who are temporarily out of the jail facility but are within the chain of custody of the jail. For example, a death in custody would include a jail inmate who died after being transferred to an offsite facility that cares for critically ill persons. Between 2000 and 2011, the DCRP data have shown that more than a third (41%) of jail inmate deaths occurred in medical facilities outside of the jail facility. Custody is further complicated by the dual law enforcement and jail administration functions of some sheriffs’ offices. As a result, some deaths reported as jail deaths actually occurred before the jail had custody of the decedent. BJS identifies and excludes from the DCRP these deaths that occurred in the process of arrest by using information about the circumstances surrounding the death. Cause-of-death information *************************** The instructions for completing the DCRP tell respondents to report death information as determined by an autopsy or other official medical death investigation. For this collection, intoxication deaths, accidents, suicides, and homicides are considered discrete causes of death. Although there is a distinction between manner and cause of death from a medico-legal standpoint, no such distinction is made in the DCRP. When reporting a death due to illness, accident, suicide, intoxication, or homicide, BJS requests that respondents describe the events surrounding these deaths. Homicides include all types of intentional homicide and involuntary manslaughter as ruled by a medical examiner or pathologist at autopsy. For example, an inmate may die of positional asphyxia (suffocation caused by the position of the inmate’s body) while the inmate is being removed from a cell. A legal-intervention homicide committed while the inmate is trying to escape would also be included. In addition, homicides include cases that are ruled a homicide at autopsy when events that led to the death occurred prior to incarceration. For example, an inmate who was shot in the community years prior to incarceration died from complications of the gunshot wound while incarcerated. Clinical data specialists convert illness-related death text entries into standard medical codes according to the World Health Organization’s International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Other BJS sources of correctional mortality data ************************************************* BJS collects other data reported to the DCRP on correctional mortality and deaths that occur in the process of arrest. These other collections include-- * Capital Punishment, which provides data on legal executions. Further discussion on executions is available on the BJS website. * The National Prisoner Statistics (NPS), which annually collected aggregate counts of deaths in state and federal prisons prior to the establishment of the DCRP. Prior to 2007, the NPS also collected counts of deaths by cause of death, including deaths due to execution, illness, AIDS, suicide, accident, homicide, and other causes. After 2006, the Federal Bureau of Prisons continued to submit the counts of deaths by cause of death using the DCRP, but no longer provided counts of deaths using the NPS. Further discussion of the NPS is available on the BJS website. * The Census of Jails, conducted every 5 to 6 years, provides counts of inmate deaths in local jails. Further discussion of the Census of Jail Inmates is available on the BJS website. * The Survey of Jails in Indian Country (SJIC), which provides aggregate counts of the number of deaths occurring in all known Indian country correctional facilities operated by tribal authorities or the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. Further discussion of the SJIC is available on the BJS website. * Arrest-Related Deaths (ARD), which obtains data on deaths that occurred during the process of arrest. State-level respondents provide details of deaths that occurred during arrest. Further discussion of ARD is available on the BJS website. Reported statistics ******************** Mortality data are shown in statistical tables by type of correctional institution (state prisons and local jails) and include the number of deaths and mortality rates by year, cause of death, selected decedent characteristics, and state. Mortality rates are calculated per 100,000 inmates, with the denominators providing estimates of the number of person- years of exposure in custody in institutional corrections. Until 2010, the mortality rate for state prisons was calculated as the number of deaths per year divided by the midyear state prison population in custody multiplied by 100,000. Starting in 2011, the rate was calculated using yearend custody counts because midyear populations were no longer available. Custody counts for state prisons provide estimates of person-years for prison populations. BJS uses data from the NPS to provide midyear and yearend custody counts of prisoners. For more information on the NPS, see the BJS website. The mortality rate in local jails is calculated as the number of deaths per year divided by the average daily jail inmate population (ADP) multiplied by 100,000. The ADP for local jails is defined as the average daily number of jail inmates held in a jail jurisdiction during a calendar year, from January 1 through December 31. The ADP is used as the denominator for jail mortality rates to accommodate the high turnover and daily fluctuation in local jail populations. Also, the ADP better reflects the number of inmate days per year than a 1-day count. Jail populations have a higher turnover than prison populations; mean stay in local jails is about 21 days, compared to 2 years for state prisons. The jail ADP also reflects the annual number of admissions and mean length of stay, and can be expressed as the product of these two values. 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. BJS obtains the jail ADP data directly from jails through the DCRP using the summary form CJ-9A. Starting in 2002, BJS collected the ADP directly from respondents. Prior to 2002, BJS calculated the jail ADP by taking the average of the January 1 count from the prior year and the December 31 count from the reference year, which is an appropriate proxy measure for ADP. Both denominators provide for annualizing mortality rates, which are calculated separately by group or by characteristic. The annualized mortality rates in state prisons and local jails are comparable to annual crude mortality rates reported by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The NCHS calculates crude mortality rates as the number of events for a period (e.g., a year) divided by the population estimate at the midpoint of the period. For general population mortality statistics, the NCHS employs the midyear population as an approximation to the average population exposed to risk of death during any given year. For more information, see Siegal, J. & Swanson, D. (2004). The Methods and Materials of Demography, Second Edition. San Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic Press, 269. The crude mortality rates reported in the DCRP annual statistical tables are not directly comparable to the crude mortality rates within the (nonincarcerated) general population, and the crude mortality rates in state prisons are not directly comparable to those of local jails. The composition of the general population (sex, race, and age) differs from the population in state prisons and local jails. Because mortality is correlated with sex, race, and age, the crude mortality rates in state prisons, local jails, and the general population should not be compared. Individual inmate death records collected annually in the death file are included in the national death count. Independent jail-specific summary death counts are collected on the annual summary form (CJ-9A) and serve as control death totals. If the death count in the summary form file is greater than the count in the individual inmate death file, the summary file count is used as the total in calculating a jail mortality rate. For 2011, individual records for jail inmate deaths were adjusted to match independent counts of deaths occurring in each jail, and the mortality rates were adjusted accordingly. Estimating inmate population Characteristics to calculate mortality rates by demographic subgroups ********************************************* BJS does not obtain annual data for all demographic characteristics of prison and jail inmates in all jurisdictions. BJS uses data from sources other than the DCRP to estimate the nationwide sex, race, and age composition of state prison and local jail inmate populations. These data sources consist primarily of periodic surveys of inmates in custody in prisons and jails. The inmate characteristic distributions obtained from these surveys are applied to denominators (counts of inmates or ADP) to estimate the number of inmates in each demographic subgroup. BJS estimated the demographic distribution of the state prison population data from the NPS and National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) collections. For a discussion on the methodology for obtaining estimates of the sex, race, and age distributions of state prisoners, see Prisoners in 2011, NCJ 239808, BJS web, December 2012. Prior to using the NPS and NCRP to estimate demographic distributions, reports of mortality rates for state prison inmates used demographic distributions derived from BJS’s 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities (SISCF). As a result, state prison mortality rates shown in these tables may differ from previously published rates. A rate comparison between the two sources showed very little difference in the resultant mortality rates. In most instances, the rates either matched or nearly matched. The rates differed in only three instances: Hispanic in 2001, and females and inmates age 55 or older in 2002. In each instance, the rates calculated using population data from the NCRP and NPS were slightly higher (less than a 1% increase) than rates calculated using population data from the SISCF. To estimate the distributions of demographic attributes of the ADP for inmates, BJS used data from several surveys to generate distributions of sex, race, and age, and applied these distributions to the ADP. BJS’s Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ) provided estimates of the sex distribution of inmates for each year of the DCRP collection and applied these to each year’s ADP from the DCRP to estimate the ADP of male and female jail inmates. Jail Inmates at Midyear 2010 – Statistical Tables (NCJ 233431, BJS web, April 2011) documents that the distributions of inmate characteristics have changed slowly over time. For the most recent information on the ASJ, see the BJS website. To estimate the racial and ethnic distribution of adult jail inmates, BJS used data from the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails (SILJ) and the National Inmate Survey (NIS) to estimate the relative distribution of adults by race and Hispanic origin for different periods. Because the SILJ (2002) and the NIS (2007 to 2009) are not fielded annually, the population estimates were smoothed before being applied to DCRP data. BJS used the SILJ estimates to cover the period from 2000 to 2004 and the NIS estimates to cover the period from 2005 to 2011. In both cases, the percentages associated with the distribution of race and Hispanic origin were applied to the adult jail ADP. BJS did not annually collect data on the age distribution of jail populations. Rather, BJS obtained estimates of the age distribution of jail inmates from periodic surveys of jail inmates, including the SILJ in 2002 and the NIS from 2007 to 2009, which are available on the BJS website. For more information about jail inmates in 2002, see Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002, NCJ 201932, BJS web, July 2004. To estimate the age distribution of the jail inmate population, BJS first obtained an estimate of the number of jail inmates age 17 or younger from the ASJ. According to table 6 in Jail Inmates at Midyear 2011 - Statistical Tables (NCJ 237961, BJS web, April 2012) from 2000 through 2011, the annual number of jail inmates age 17 or younger ranged from 5,900 to 7,600 inmates. By applying the annual percentage of jail inmates age 17 or younger to the annual average daily jail inmate population, BJS obtained an estimate of the ADP of jail inmates age 17 or younger. To estimate the age distribution of adult jail inmates, BJS used data from the SILJ for 2000 to 2006 and the NIS for 2007 to 2011 to estimate the relative distribution of adults by age category for different periods. The age estimates were smoothed to account for gaps in reference years when age estimates were available, specifically for 2003, 2006, 2010, and 2011. Moving averages **************** Moving averages were used to smooth short term irregularities and to estimate long term trends. For instance, moving averages were computed to examine data trends for certain causes of death in jails and prisons while smoothing out short-term fluctuations. The data were cut into several 3-year overlapping periods spanning all 11 years of prison data and 12 years of jail data. The moving averages in this report describe some changes in cause-specific mortality rates over time (e.g., whether the decline in the AIDS-related mortality rate was steady, or whether the increase of suicides in jails was recent). Moving averages were not computed for all causes of death in custody, because the resultant rates would have been unstable and therefore statistically meaningless due to small cell sizes. Random error and suppression ***************************** The DCRP data on deaths in state prisons and local jails are not subject to sampling error. However, mortality data from a complete or near-complete enumeration may be subject to random error. Following the methodology of Brillinger and NCHS, “the number of deaths that actually occurred may be considered as one of a large series of possible results that could have arisen under the same set of circumstances” (NCHS, 2007). The random variation can be large when the number of deaths is small, so caution is warranted when interpreting statistics based on small numbers of deaths. According to NCHS standards, mortality rates based on fewer than 100 deaths per year should be interpreted with caution. For more information on vital rates, see Brillinger, D.R. (1986). The natural variability of vital rates and associated statistics. Biometrics 42:693-734. See also National Vital Statistics Reports. Deaths: Final Data for 2007, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_19.pdf. Continuing to use the NCHS and Brillinger methods, BJS quantified random variation by assuming that the appropriate underlying probability distribution for the number of deaths is a Poisson distribution. This provides for a computationally simple, as well as reasonable, approach to estimating variances for mortality statistics when the probability of dying is low. BJS calculated variances based on the assumption of a Poisson process. From these variances, BJS calculated relative random error estimates, which are comparable to relative standard error in that the relative random error is the ratio of random error derived from the Poisson variance to the number of deaths. Following NCHS, when the relative random error exceeded 30 percent, BJS flagged estimated mortality rates due to the instability of the rate. Survey performance issues ************************** Survey administration and modifications to the survey form generated data from 2007 to 2009 that may not be wholly compatible with prior DCRP data. In 2012, BJS identified a previously undetected data error that mischaracterized over 600 illness-related deaths as illness-related deaths missing detailed cause-of-death information, leading to an inflated frequency of prison deaths in reference year 2007 being characterized as all other illnesses while simultaneously depressing frequencies of known illnesses (e.g., heart disease, cancer, or liver disease). The error was identified and resolved, correcting the distributions. In 2008, local jail officials were unable to provide causes of death for 21.4% of jail inmate deaths. During 2009, BJS made modifications to the collection instruments to improve reporting and reduce burden. * Item nonresponse in 2008 jail data and unknown cause of death: An abnormally large number of cases were missing a response for cause of death in the 2008 jail file (n=203; 21.4% of all jail deaths in 2008). This coincided with the final year the U.S. Census Bureau acted as the data collection agent for the DCRP. In prior years of the DCRP jail data collection, an average of 6% of all causes of death were classified as other or unknown. For this report, BJS categorized all of these 203 jail deaths from 2008 as missing data about cause of death. * 2009 data collection: Prior to fielding the 2009 DCRP collection, BJS reviewed the data collection instrument and data submission procedures and assessed the communications with DCRP respondents with the goal of reducing the burden on respondents. The survey was modified to facilitate navigation and to encourage online response. The modifications led to delays in implementing data collection. As a result, death reports were not collected in the year the deaths occurred, but were instead collected retrospectively during 2010 for the first time. Data collection for subsequent years resumed on a normal schedule. ***************************************************** The Bureau of Justice Statistics, located in the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, collects, analyses, and disseminates statistical information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. William J. Sabol is acting director. Margaret E. Noonan and RTI analyzed the data; the report was prepared by Margaret E. Noonan. E. Ann Carson verified the report. Kim Aspinwall carried out data collection and processing with assistance from Sarah Love, under the supervision of Chris Ellis, RTI International. Scott Ginder provided statistical assistance, and Todd Heinrich provided technical assistance. Vanessa Curto, Irene Cooperman from Lockheed Martin, and Jill Thomas edited the report, and Barbara Quinn and Tina Dorsey produced the report, under the supervision of Doris J. James. August 2013, NCJ 242186 ***************************************************** **************************************************** Office of Justice Programs Innovation * Partnerships * Safer Neighborhoods www.ojp.usdoj.gov **************************************************** 7/30/13/JER/10:00am