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Mortality in Correctional Institutions (MCI) collects data on deaths that occur while inmates are in the custody of local jails, state prisons, or the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Local jail and state prison data are collected directly from jails and state departments of corrections. Until 2015, the BOP submitted only aggregated deaths counts, by cause and sex. Starting with the 2015 reference year, the BOP submitted detailed data about each prisoner's death. Arrest-related mortality data were collected separately from data on deaths that occur in prisons or jails. The arrest-related death collection from local and state law enforcement agencies was suspended in 2014. The MCI provides individual-level data on the number of deaths by year, cause of death, and decedent age, race or Hispanic origin, and sex. These data are also used to produce facility and population mortality rates. The collection of individual-level data allows BJS to perform detailed analyses of comparative death rates across demographic categories and offense types and facility and agency characteristics.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics began the MCI (formerly the DCRP) in 2000 in response to the passage of the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) of 2000 (P.L. 106-297), which required the collection of individual data on deaths in the process of arrest, local jails, and state prisons. The MCI collects many, but not all, of the elements outlined in the DCRA reauthorization (P.L. 113-242), but because MCI is collected for statistical purposes only, it cannot be used for DCRA enforcement.

Data Collections & Surveys

• Mortality in Correctional Institutions (MCI) (Formerly Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP))

Publications & Products

Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2016 - Statistical Tables This report presents counts and rate of deaths that occurred in the custody of local jails. It describes deaths by selected decedent characteristics, jurisdiction, cause of death, and trends over time.
	Full report (PDF 696K) | Data tables (Spreadsheet 39K) Part of the Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons Series
Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2016 - Statistical Tables This report provides the number and rate of deaths among state and federal prisoners. It describes the cause of death, decedent characteristics, and 15-year trends of prisoner deaths (2001-2016).
	Full report (PDF 488K) | Data tables (Spreadsheet 37K) Part of the Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons Series
HIV in Prisons, 2015 - Statistical Tables Presents data on state and federal prisoners who were HIV-positive or had confirmed AIDS and prisoners who died from AIDS-related causes.
	Press Release | Summary (PDF 184K) | Full report (PDF 980K) | ASCII file (26K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 25K) Part of the HIV in Prisons and Jails Series
Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2014 - Statistical Tables Describes national- and state-level data on inmate deaths that occurred in local jails from 2000 to 2014 and includes a preliminary count of inmate deaths in local jails in 2015.
	Press Release | Summary (PDF 243K) | Full report (PDF 911K) | ASCII file (31K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 39K) Part of the Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons Series
Mortality in State Prisons, 2001-2014 - Statistical Tables Describes national- and state-level data on inmate deaths that occurred in state prisons from 2001 to 2014 and presents aggregate counts of inmate deaths in federal prisons.
	Press Release | Summary (PDF 241K) | Full report (PDF 551K) | ASCII file (27K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 36K) Part of the Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons Series
Assessing Inmate Cause of Death: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program and National Death Index 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).
	Full report (PDF 439K) | ASCII file (89K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 43K)
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2013 - Statistical Tables DEATHS IN LOCAL JAILS AND STATE PRISONS INCREASED FOR THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR
	Press Release
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2013 - Statistical Tables Presents inmate death records from each of the nation's 50 state prison systems. Death records include information on decedent personal characteristics (age, race or Hispanic origin, and sex), decedent criminal background (legal status, offense type, and time served), and the death itself (date, time, location, and cause of death).
	Press Release | Summary (PDF 223KB) | Full report (PDF 2.3MB) | ASCII file (46KB) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 66KB) Part of the Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons Series
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2012 - Statistical Tables Presents national-and state-level data on the number of inmate deaths that occurred in local jails and state prisons, the distribution of deaths across jails, and the aggregate count of deaths in federal prisons.
	Press Release | Full report (PDF 2M) | ASCII file (23K) | Zip format (98K) Part of the Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons Series
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2011 - Statistical Tables Presents national and state-level data on the number of inmate deaths that occurred in local jails and state prisons, how the deaths are distributed across jails, and an aggregate count of deaths in federal prisons.
	Press Release | Full report (PDF 2.1M) | ASCII file (46K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 58K) Part of the Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons Series

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