NCJ Number
210748
Date Published
May 2005
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes information and data on deaths in custody in California from 1994 through 2003, with a more detailed analysis for 2003.
Abstract
"Custody" is defined as "any point in time when a person's freedom of movement has been denied by law enforcement, such as during transport prior to booking, or during arrest, prosecution, sentencing, and correctional confinement." Between 1994 and 2003, 4,506 people died while in the custody of law enforcement; there were 384 such deaths in 1994 and 580 in 2003. Over this same period, custody deaths at State supervised facilities increased an average of 3.5 percent each year: 257 in 1994 to 344 in 2003. The rate of custody deaths decreased from 1994 to 2000 and then increased from 2000 to 2003. The rate of death was higher for 55 to 74-year-olds in custody compared to deaths in this age group for the general public. From 2000 to 2003, the rate of custody deaths for Whites increased, while the rate for Hispanics and Blacks remained the same. Fifty-five percent of custody deaths occurred in prison in 2003; 62 percent of custody deaths in 2003 were from natural causes. From 1994 to 2003, most custody deaths due to other than natural causes occurred at city jails (81.7 percent), State/local juvenile facilities (75.0 percent), and in squad car/street/residence (85.8 percent). Hanging/strangulation were most often the means of unnatural deaths for Hispanics and Whites; most Blacks died from injuries from a vehicle or explosive, with an equal number of deaths by hanging/strangulation and drug overdose. Of those dying in custody in 2003, 93.8 percent were males. In 2003, most arrestees were in the 15 to 24-year-old age group, yet most deaths in custody involved individuals in the 45 to 54-year-old age group. 5 figures