U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics December 2011, NCJ 236219 Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables by Margaret E. Noonan and E. Ann Carson, BJS Statisticians --------------------------------------------------- This file is text without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.cvs) and the full report including tables and graphs in .pdf format are available at: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=1744 --------------------------------------------------- This report provides an update to annual tables based on the Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP), a data collection that measures inmate mortality data in state prisons and local jails by the number and causes of deaths. In 2008, 960 inmates died in U.S. jails (a mortality rate of 123 deaths per 100,000 jail inmates). In 2009, 948 inmates died in U.S. jails (a rate of 127 deaths per 100,000 jail inmates). State prison facilities reported 3,452 inmate deaths in 2008 (a rate of 260 deaths per 100,000 prison inmates) and 3,408 inmate deaths in 2009 (257 deaths per 100,000 prison inmates). Consistent with data from previous years, local jail deaths constituted approximately 25% of inmate deaths in adult correctional facilities nationwide. The number of inmate deaths in jails increased each year between 2000 and 2007 (from 904 to 1,102 inmate deaths), increasing 22% during this period. In 2008, the number of deaths in jails declined 13% to 960 inmate deaths, and decreased an additional 1% in 2009 to 948 deaths (figure 1). The decline in 2008 was the first decline in jail mortality data since BJS began collecting data annually for the DCRP in 2000. From 2007 to 2008, 918 jails reported a change in the number of deaths to the DCRP. Among these jails, 324 reported a total increase of 452 deaths and 402 jails reported a total decrease of 594 deaths, for a net decrease of 142 deaths in 2008. The majority of jails reporting a decline (74%) registered one less death in 2008 than in 2007. Nine jails reported a total decrease of 69 deaths (12% of the total decline). All nine of these jails held at least 2,500 inmates on an average day in 2007 and 2008. In general, the number of deaths in state prisons rose each year between 2001 and 2008 (from 2,877 to 3,452 inmate deaths), a 20% increase (figure 2). In 2009, the number of deaths in prisons dropped to 3,408, a 1% decrease. Statistical tables in this report detail prison and jail deaths in custody. The tables present mortality data by cause of death, selected decedent characteristics, and state. SUMMARY FINDINGS: Jails Cause of death * After increasing an average of 3% annually between 2000 and 2007, the number of inmate deaths in jails declined 13% in 2008. In 2009, the number of jail deaths remained relatively stable (down 1% from 2008) (table 1). * Among the causes of inmate deaths in jails, AIDS-related deaths had the largest decline, decreasing by more than half (54%) between 2000 and 2009. * Between 2000 and 2009, suicide (29%) and heart disease (22%) were the leading causes of deaths in jails, accounting for over half (51%) of all deaths in jails (table 2). * Death by drug or alcohol intoxication (7%) was the third leading single cause of death in jails between 2000 and 2009. No other single cause of death accounted for more than 5% of jail deaths during this period. * Suicide rates in jails dropped every year between 2001 and 2007 (from 49 to 36 deaths per 100,000), before increasing in 2009 (41 deaths per 100,000) (table 3). * The jail mortality rate declined 13% between 2007 and 2008 (from 141 to 123 deaths per 100,000 jail inmates). The mortality rate increased in 2009 (127 deaths per 100,000), but this rate was still lower than the rate in 2007. Decedent characteristics * Males constituted 88% of the jail population and 88% of jail deaths over the 10-year period. Females (132 deaths per 100,000) and males (141 deaths per 100,000) died at nearly equal rates between 2000 and 2009 (table 4). * Whites (43% of the jail population) had a mortality rate in jails between 1.6 and 4.7 times that of any other race or ethnic group. * American Indians and Alaska Natives accounted for about 2% of jail deaths, and Asians, Hawaiians, or other Pacific Islanders accounted for less than 1% of deaths in jails between 2000 and 2009 (table 5). * Between 2000 and 2009, jail inmates age 55 or older were between 5 and 7 times more likely to die than inmates age 54 or younger. During this period, the annual mortality rate for jail inmates age 55 or older ranged from 666 to 870 deaths per 100,000 (table 6). State-level jail populations * California, Texas, New York, and Florida reported 35% of all jail deaths. These states also had the largest jail populations and averaged 32% of the total jail average daily population reported to the DCRP between 2000 and 2009 (table 7). * Between 2000 and 2009, nearly all (from 97% to 99%) of the approximately 2,800 jail jurisdictions in the U.S. submitted population and mortality data to the DCRP. These jurisdictions reported a total of 10,005 deaths over the ten-year period (table 9). Cause of death by decedent characteristics * Males accounted for 98% of homicides in jails between 2000 and 2009 (table 11). * Between 2000 and 2009, males committed suicide (43 deaths per 100,000) at a higher rate than females (27 deaths per 100,000) in jails. Over this period, males were 1.6 times more likely to die by suicide than females, and females were 1.7 times more likely to die by intoxication than males (table 12). * Between 2000 and 2009, whites had the highest suicide rate in jail (80 deaths per 100,000). Hispanics/Latinos (25 deaths per 100,000) were 3 times less likely to commit suicide than whites in jails and 1.6 times more likely to commit suicide in jails than blacks/African Americans (16 deaths per 100,000). * White, black/African American, and Hispanic/Latino inmates had equal homicide rates in jails (3 deaths per 100,000). * In jails, the oldest inmates (age 55 or older) and the youngest inmates (age 17 or younger) had the highest suicide mortality rates (60 and 55 deaths per 100,000, respectively). Jail inmates age 55 or older were 3 times more likely than younger inmates to die of an accident. Cause of death * After increasing an average of 3% annually between 2000 and 2007, the number of inmate deaths in jails declined 13% in 2008. In 2009, the number of jail deaths remained relatively stable (down 1% from 2008) (table 1). * Among the causes of inmate deaths in jails, AIDS-related deaths had the largest decline, decreasing by more than half (54%) between 2000 and 2009. * Between 2000 and 2009, suicide (29%) and heart disease (22%) were the leading causes of deaths in jails, accounting for over half (51%) of all deaths in jails (table 2). * Death by drug or alcohol intoxication (7%) was the third leading single cause of death in jails between 2000 and 2009. No other single cause of death accounted for more than 5% of jail deaths during this period. * Suicide rates in jails dropped every year between 2001 and 2007 (from 49 to 36 deaths per 100,000), before increasing in 2009 (41 deaths per 100,000) (table 3). * The jail mortality rate declined 13% between 2007 and 2008 (from 141 to 123 deaths per 100,000 jail inmates). The mortality rate increased in 2009 (127 deaths per 100,000), but this rate was still lower than the rate in 2007. Decedent characteristics * Males constituted 88% of the jail population and 88% of jail deaths over the 10-year period. Females (132 deaths per 100,000) and males (141 deaths per 100,000) died at nearly equal rates between 2000 and 2009 (table 4). * Whites (43% of the jail population) had a mortality rate in jails between 1.6 and 4.7 times that of any other race or ethnic group. * American Indians and Alaska Natives accounted for about 2% of jail deaths, and Asians, Hawaiians, or other Pacific Islanders accounted for less than 1% of deaths in jails between 2000 and 2009 (table 5). * Between 2000 and 2009, jail inmates age 55 or older were between 5 and 7 times more likely to die than inmates age 54 or younger. During this period, the annual mortality rate for jail inmates age 55 or older ranged from 666 to 870 deaths per 100,000 (table 6). State-level jail populations * California, Texas, New York, and Florida reported 35% of all jail deaths. These states also had the largest jail populations and averaged 32% of the total jail average daily population reported to the DCRP between 2000 and 2009 (table 7). * Between 2000 and 2009, nearly all (from 97% to 99%) of the approximately 2,800 jail jurisdictions in the U.S. submitted population and mortality data to the DCRP. These jurisdictions reported a total of 10,005 deaths over the ten-year period (table 9). Cause of death by decedent characteristics * Males accounted for 98% of homicides in jails between 2000 and 2009 (table 11). * Between 2000 and 2009, males committed suicide (43 deaths per 100,000) at a higher rate than females (27 deaths per 100,000) in jails. Over this period, males were 1.6 times more likely to die by suicide than females, and females were 1.7 times more likely to die by intoxication than males (table 12). * Between 2000 and 2009, whites had the highest suicide rate in jail (80 deaths per 100,000). Hispanics/Latinos (25 deaths per 100,000) were 3 times less likely to commit suicide than whites in jails and 1.6 times more likely to commit suicide in jails than blacks/African Americans (16 deaths per 100,000). * White, black/African American, and Hispanic/Latino inmates had equal homicide rates in jails (3 deaths per 100,000). * In jails, the oldest inmates (age 55 or older) and the youngest inmates (age 17 or younger) had the highest suicide mortality rates (60 and 55 deaths per 100,000, respectively). Jail inmates age 55 or older were 3 times more likely than younger inmates to die of an accident. SUMMARY FINDINGS: Prisons Cause of Death * In general, the number of deaths in prisons increased each year between 2001 and 2008, increasing 20% during this period. Between 2008 and 2009, both the number of deaths and mortality rates remained relatively stable, declining 1% each (table 13). * Among the causes of inmate deaths in prisons, AIDS related deaths had the largest decline (down 65%) between 2001 and 2009. * Between 2001 and 2009, illness-related deaths accounted for 9 out of 10 prison deaths (table 14). * Heart disease (26%) and cancer (23%) were the leading single causes of illness-related deaths in prisons, together accounting for nearly half (49%) of all prison deaths between 2001 and 2009. * Liver disease was the third leading single cause of death in prisons, accounting for 7% of all deaths. * Deaths due to intoxication, homicide, or accident were the least common causes of deaths, with none accounting for more than 2% of deaths in prisons. Decedent characteristics * On average, males constituted 96% of the prison population over the 9-year period and 93% of all prison deaths (table 17). * Prison inmates age 55 or older accounted for 41% of prison deaths but comprised 5% of the total prison population for the 9-year period. * Whites made up 37% of the prison population and 50% of deaths in prisons between 2001 and 2009. White mortality rates were between 1.4 and 1.8 times higher than other race or ethnic groups during the 9-year period. * Between 2001 and 2009, males in prisons died at rate of 260 deaths per 100,000, while females died at a rate of 153 deaths per 100,000 (table 19). * During the 9-year period of prison data collection, the annual mortality rates for inmates age 55 or older ranged between 2,007 and 2,500 deaths per 100,000. State-level prison populations * All 50 (100%) state departments of corrections participated in the DCRP between 2001 and 2009 (table 20). * California, Texas, Florida, and New York had the four largest correctional populations in the United States. They averaged 37% of the total prison population and reported 37% of deaths to the DCRP between 2001 and 2009. Cause of death by decedent characteristics * Males accounted for more than 99% of prison homicides between 2001 and 2009 (table 23). * With the exception of deaths due to drug or alcohol intoxication, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Hawaiians, or other Pacific Islanders each accounted for less than 1% of all deaths in prisons between 2001 and 2009. * American Indians and Alaska Natives accounted for 3.1% of all drug or alcohol intoxication deaths in state prisons between 2001 and 2009. * Males were twice as likely (19 deaths per 100,000) as females (8 deaths per 100,000) to die from liver disease. Males were 1.5 times more likely to commit suicide than females in prison between 2001 and 2009 (table 24). * Blacks/African Americans accounted for 68% of AIDS related deaths and died from AIDS at a rate (21 per 100,000) that was three times that of whites (7 per 100,000) and twice that of Hispanics/Latinos (10 per 100,000) between 2001 and 2009. * Inmates age 55 or older had the highest mortality rates due to heart disease (664 deaths per 100,000), cancer (639 deaths per 100,000), and liver disease (113 deaths per 100,000) over the entire 9-year DCRP collection. * Prison inmates age 55 or older had the highest homicide rate (8 deaths per 100,000), which was between 1.6 and 2.7 times higher than any other age group from 2001 to 2009. ******************************************** List of Tables Table 1. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000-2009 Table 2. Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000-2009 Table 3. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death, 2000-2009 Table 4. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by selected characteristics, 2000-2009 Table 5. Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by selected characteristics, 2000-2009 Table 6. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected characteristics, 2000-2009 Table 7. Number of jail deaths, by state and year, 2000-2009 Table 8. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by state, 2000-2009 Table 9. Number of jail jurisdictions reporting to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, by state and year,2000-2009 Table 10. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000-2009 Table 11. Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000-2009 Table 12. Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000-2009 Table 13. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001-2009 Table 14. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001-2009 Table 15. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death, 2001-2009 Table 16. Number of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001-2009 Table 17. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001-2009 Table 18. Estimated number of state prisoners in custody at midyear, by selected characteristics, 2001-2009 Table 19. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by selected characteristics, 2001-2009 Table 20. Number of state prisoner deaths, by state, 2001-2009 Table 21. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by state, 2001-2009 Table 22. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-2009 Table 23. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-2009 Table 24. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-2009 Table 25. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and state, 2001-2009 Table 26. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and state, 2001-2009 ************************************************ Methodology The Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) is an annual data collection conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The DCRP collects data on persons who have died while in the custody of the 50 state departments of correction and in the roughly 3,000 local adult jail jurisdictions nationwide. The DCRP began in 2000 under the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-297). It is the only national statistical collection that obtains detailed information about deaths in adult correctional facilities. BJS uses DCRP datato report national trends in the number and causes (or manners) of deaths occurring in state prison or local jail custody. Information about decedents collected for the DCRP include selected demographic characteristics, such as sex, age, race, and Hispanic ethnicity; facility type of death (prison or jail); date of admission; conviction status; admission offense; circumstances surrounding the death, including cause of death, time and location of death; and information on whether an autopsy was conducted and the availability of results to the respondent. In cases of illness deaths, the DCRP collects data on whether the decedent had a preexisting condition and whether he or she received medical treatment for this condition prior to death. Executions are collected under the separate BJS Capital Punishment series. Data on executions are accessible through the BJS website at www.bjs.gov. Statistics presented in this report are current as of September 1, 2011. DCRP mortality data are accessible on the BJS website. 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). Scope of the DCRP The prison component of the DCRP collects data on inmate deaths occurring in the 50 state departments of corrections while inmates are in the physical custody of prison officials. Starting in 2001 and annually thereafter, BJS has collected DCRP data directly from state prison systems. Since beginning the collection, BJS has maintained a 100% response rate from the state prison system respondents to the DCRP. The DCRP's jail component includes inmate deaths occurring in all local adult jail jurisdictions nationwide. 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 or executive manages the local facilities. The DCRP data identify the facilities in which a jail death occurs, but the DCRP data are arrayed at the jail jurisdiction level. BJS defines a jail as locally-operated correctional facility that confines persons before or after adjudication for more than 72 hours. BJS does not include temporary lockups in its definition of jail facilities. 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 its authority. See the BJS website for more information. The jail universe file includes all currently operating jails as well as jails that have closed, consolidated, or otherwise eliminated operations. The most recent jail universe, constructed in 2009, identified 2,825 jurisdictions, representing 3,223 jail facilities. Of these, 2,755 (97.5%) participated in the 2009 DCRP. Administration of the DCRP The DCRP collection forms are provided annually to state prison and local jail respondents. Respondents provide an aggregate count of the number of deaths occurring during the referenced calendar year, in addition to individuallevel decedent data. For state prison system respondents, aggregate counts are obtained through the NPS-4 (available at http://bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/nps410.pdf). For local jails, aggregate counts of deaths are obtained through the CJ-9A (available at http://bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cj9a10.pdf). BJS requests jail administrators to provide statistics about their population and bookings through the summary form in addition to a death count. All jails, even those with no deaths to report, a scenario that applies to about 80% of jails in any given year, are asked to complete the annual summary form. BJS obtains a separate report describing the decedent's characteristics and the circumstances surrounding the death for each death occurring in a state prison or local jail. The survey forms used to obtain data on each prison and jail death are available on the BJS website: * Prison deaths (NPS-4A form): http://bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/nps4a10.pdf * Jail deaths (CJ-9): http://bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cj910.pdf State prison and local jail respondents may submit individual records on decedents at any time during a collection cycle through a BJS web-based collection system, accessible on the BJS website at https://bjsdcrp.rti.org/. BJS has modified the survey forms slightly over time. Most of the changes have been minor and intended to clarify existing questions and ease respondent burden. In 2001, additional items on medical treatment in prisons and jails were added to collect data on medical treatment received by the inmate prior to death. Text boxes added to the forms in 2008 allowed respondents to elaborate on deaths due to intoxication, suicide, and inmate-involved homicide. Such fields had previously only been available for deaths due to illness, accident, homicide not caused by other inmates, and other unspecified reasons. BJS removed a question measuring the conviction status of an inmate (since more than 99% of prison inmates were convicted at the time of their deaths). BJS also changed the survey layout in 2009 to simplify the progression through questions related to autopsies. The revised item instructed respondents to complete the entire form after autopsy results were available (rather than submitting an initially-incomplete form where autopsy results were pending). Determining eligibility for reporting to the DCRP In the DCRP, custody refers to the holding of an inmate in a facility or while 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 the DCRP. A death that occurs when an inmate is not in the custody of correctional authority is considered to be beyond the scope of the DCRP. This includes deaths of inmates on escape status and those serving time on community corrections (probation, parole, or home-electronic monitoring). Legal executions are also beyond the scope of the DCRP. For more information on executions, see the Capital Punishment series on the BJS website. BJS instructs both state prison and local jail officials to determine first 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, this includes the deaths of inmates held in any private prison facility under contract to the department of corrections as well as deaths 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 due to overcrowding or other reasons but who were still serving a prison term. The DCRP obtains information about these deaths through the jail reports. For jails, deaths in custody includes deaths of inmates who were temporarily out of the physical custody of a facility but within the chain of custody of the jail. Typically, these include deaths of jail inmates who have been transferred to offsite facilities that care for critically-ill persons. Over half (51%) of jail inmate deaths occurred in medical facilities outside of the jail facility between 2000 and 2009. Custody is further complicated by the dual law enforcement and jail administration functions of some sheriffs' departments. As a result, some deaths reported as jail deaths actually occurred before the jail had custody of the decedent. BJS excludes these deaths in the process of arrest by using information about the circumstances surrounding the death. Identifying and excluding duplicates Duplicate death records may exist in DCRP due to overlapping correctional populations as well as overlapping duties within correctional facilities. For example, a jail jurisdiction may have more than one reporting unit responsible for reporting data to BJS, or a jail may be holding a state prison inmate. Multiple reporting entities may report the same death, or state prison systems may report on the death of an inmate who was transferred to a local jail but was serving a prison sentence at the time. BJS' process for identifying duplicate death records is as follows: First, BJS reconciles the aggregate summary counts of deaths occurring during a calendar year with the number of individual death records obtained from a reporting jurisdiction. When BJS identifies discrepancies, it contacts reporting jurisdictions for clarification. Second, BJS performs record-matching to identify duplicate records within jurisdictions. The matching is based on inmate name and date of birth, date of death, and date of admission to the facility. BJS' review of death records between 2000 and 2009 found 83 jail and 294 prison deaths to be duplicates or beyond the scope of DCRP. These records were excluded from all DCRP analyses. Cause of death information BJS aims to collect accurate information about the cause of death. The instructions for completing the DCRP tell respondents to report death information as determined by an autopsy or other official medical death investigation. Death by intoxication, accident, suicide, and homicide are considered discrete causes of death. While 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 deaths due to accident or homicide, BJS requests respondents to describe the events surrounding these deaths. BJS added a text field to the survey forms so that respondents could provide more detailed information on suicide and intoxication deaths. See Administration of the DCRP. Due to the variation in deaths caused by illness, respondents report the cause of death as determined by an autopsy. These causes are later converted by clinical data specialists 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 maintains other data collections on correctional mortality and deaths in the process of arrest. These other collections include-- * Capital Punishment, which provides data on legal executions. (See the BJS website for further discussion of executions.) * The National Prisoner Statistics (NPS), which prior to the establishment of the DCRP, annually collected aggregate counts of deaths in state and federal prisons. Prior to 2007, the NPS collected aggregate counts of deaths occurring in state and federal prisons, and counts of deaths by broad categories of death, specifically deaths due to execution, illness, AIDS, suicide, accident, homicide, and other causes. After 2007, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) continued to submit the counts of deaths for these broad categories while state prison officials no longer provided counts of deaths via the NPS. (See the BJS website for further discussion of the NPS.) * The Census of Jail Inmates, which is conducted every five to six years and provides counts of inmate deaths in local jails. (See the BJS website for further discussion of the Census of Jail Inmates). * The Survey of Jails in Indian Country (SJIC), which provides aggregate counts of the number of deaths occurring in Indian country correctional facilities operated by tribal authorities or the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. (See the BJS website for further discussion of the SJIC.) * Arrest-Related Deaths (ARD), which obtains data on deaths occurring during the process of arrest. BJS relies on state-level respondents to provide details of deaths occurring during arrest. (See the BJS website for further discussion of ARD.) Reported statistics Mortality rates are calculated per 100,000 inmates where the denominators provide estimates of the number of person-years of exposure in custody in institutional corrections. The mortality rate for state prisons is calculated as the number of deaths per year divided by the midyear state prison population in custody multiplied by 100,000. Midyear custody counts for state prisons provide estimates for person-years for prison populations. BJS uses data from its National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) collection to provide midyear 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. The use of the ADP as the denominator for jail mortality rates is based on the high turnover and daily fluctuation in local jail populations. The ADP better reflects the number of inmate days per year than does any one day count. 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. Starting in 2002, BJS collected the ADP directly from respondents using the summary form, CJ-9. Prior to 2002, BJS calculated the jail ADP by taking the average of the January 1st count and the December 31st count from the reference year, which is a proxy measure for ADP. Both denominators provide data for annualizing mortality rates, which are calculated separately for each key statistic, by group or by characteristic. The annualized mortality rates by cause of death in state prisons and local jails are comparable to annual crude mortality rates reported by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). NCHS calculates crude mortality rates as the number of events for a period (e.g., year) divided by the population estimate at the midpoint of the period. For general population mortality statistics, 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, p. 269.) The crude mortality rates reported in the DCRP annual statistical tables for particular segments of the incarcerated population are not directly comparable to the crude mortality rates within the (non-incarcerated) general population. In addition, the crude mortality rates in state prisons are not directly comparable to those of local jails. Since the age, race, and sex composition of the general population differs from that in state prisons and local jails, and since mortality is correlated with age, race, and sex, the crude mortality rates in state prisons and local jails should not be compared directly to one another, or to the general population. Estimating inmate population characteristics for use in calculating 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 age, race, and sex 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 National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) and National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) collections. For a discussion on the methodology for obtaining estimates of the age, race, and sex distributions of state prisoners, see Prisoners in 2009 (NCJ 231675, BJS web, December 2010). Prior BJS reports of mortality rates for state prison inmates used demographic distributions derived from BJS' 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities (SISCF). Consequently, the 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. To estimate the distributions of demographic attributes of the ADP for local jail inmates, BJS used data from several surveys to generate distributions of age, race, and sex, and applied these distributions to the ADP. BJS' Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ) provided estimates of the race, ethnic, and sex distribution of local jail inmates for each year of the DCRP collection and applied these to each year's ADP from the DCRP to estimate the average daily population of persons in these demographic categories. For more information on the ASJ, see Jail Inmates at Midyear 2010 -- Statistical Tables (NCJ 233431, BJS Web, April 2011). Unlike sex and race/ethnicity data, BJS does not annually collect data on age in jail populations. BJS obtained estimates of the age distribution of jail inmates from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails (SILJ) and the 2007 and 2008-09 National Inmate Survey (NIS) available on the BJS website. For more information about jail inmates, see Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002 (NCJ 201932, BJS Web, July 2004). To estimate the age distribution of the jail inmate population, we first obtained an estimate of the number of jail inmates under age 18 from the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ). Between 2000 and 2010, the number of jail inmates under age 18 has ranged between 6,100 and 7,615, according to Jail Inmates at Midyear 2010 (table 6). By applying the annual percentage of jail inmates under age 18 to the annual average daily jail inmate population, we estimated the average daily population of jail inmates under age 18. To estimate the age distribution of adult jail inmates, BJS used data from the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails (SILJ) and the National Inmate Survey (NIS). We used the SILJ estimates to cover the period from 2000 to 2006 and the NIS estimates to cover the period from 2007 to 2009. In each case, we applied the percentages associated with each age category to the adults in jail average daily population. 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 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; hence, considerable 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 the 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. Further following NCHS and Brillinger, we quantify random variation by assuming that the appropriate underlying distribution is a Poisson probability distribution. This provides for a computationally simple as well as reasonable approach to estimate variances for mortality statistics when the probability of dying is low. We calculated variances based on the assumption of a Poisson process and from these variances 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%, we flagged estimated mortality rates due to the instability of the rate. Survey performance issues Survey administration and modifications to the survey form generated data for years 2007 through 2009 that may not be wholly compatible with prior DCRP data. In 2007, state prison officials categorized a large number of illness deaths as all other illnesses, which led to a high degree of missing data on illness causes of death. In 2008, local jail officials were unable to provide causes of death for 22% of jail inmate deaths. During 2009, BJS made modifications to the collection instruments to improve reporting and reduce burden. * Item nonresponse in 2007: The number of illness deaths categorized as all other illnesses was overstated in the 2007 prison death reports. This arose from a high degree of item nonresponse in the text box requesting specific illness designation on the prisoner death form (NPS-4A). Since the "all other illnesses" category included unknown or unspecified illnesses, we were able to classify deaths within this broad category into specific causes when respondents reported an illness death and the additional cause of death information. Throughout the DCRP prison collection, state departments of corrections respondents were unable to provide more detailed information on an average of 17 illness deaths per year between 2001 and 2006. During 2007, this frequency increased to 173 deaths. Since many of these deaths would likely have been classified in the most common illness categories (e.g., heart disease, cancer, or liver disease), the number of known illness deaths was low in 2007 relative to prior years. The distribution of illness deaths in state prisons during 2007 reflect only the deaths for which specific illness determinations could be made. * 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=209; 21.8% of all jail deaths in 2008). This coincided with the final year the U.S. Census Bureau acted as the data collection agent for DCRP. In prior years of the DCRP jail data collection, an average of 6% of all deaths were classified as having other or unknown causes of death. For the purposes of this report, BJS categorized the cause of death for these 209 jail deaths from 2008 as other/unknown. * 2009 data collection: Prior to the 2009 DCRP collection, BJS reviewed the data collection instrument, data submission procedures, and assessed the communications with DCRP respondents with the goal to reduce burden on respondents. This resulted in modifications to th survey instrument to facilitate the online data collection tool to encourage online response. These modifications led to delays in implementing the collection. As a result, individual death reports were collected retrospectively for the first time, rather than in the year the death occurred. ************************************************** Office of Justice Programs * Innovation * Partnerships * Safer Neighborhoods * www.ojp.gov The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. James P. Lynch is director. These Statistical Tables were prepared and verified by Margaret E. Noonan and E. Ann Carson. Morgan Young edited the report, Morgan Young and Barbara Quinn produced the report, and Jayne Robinson prepared the report for final printing under the supervision of Doris J. James. December 2011, NCJ 236219 The full text of each report is available in PDF and ASCII formats on the BJS website at www.bjs.gov. Tables are also available in PDF and CSV formats. Related datasets are made available on the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data website at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD/index.jsp ***************************************************** 12/1/2011/JER/ 1:29pm