Today's Date: April 26, 2024
BeiGene Demonstrates Global Progress in 2023 Responsible Business & Sustainability Report   •   Coastal Carolina, Southwestern Law School, and Other Institutions Streamline Accessibility Workflows With YuJa's PDF Remediation   •   Kinaxis Positioned Highest on Ability to Execute in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Supply Chain Planning Solutions   •   Dual Enrollment Helps High School Students Launch Rewarding Careers   •   Chase Opens Innovative Branch in Bronx’s Grand Concourse Neighborhood   •   Disneyland Resort Celebrates Return of Pixar Fest for a Limited Time, April 26-Aug. 4, 2024   •   Cabot Park Village Senior Living Community Named One of the Country's Best by U.S. News & World Report   •   The Sallie Mae Fund Grants $75,000 to DC College Access Program to Support Higher Education Access and Completion   •   Chestnut Park at Cleveland Circle Assisted Living Community Named One of the Country's Best by U.S. News & World Report   •   Crescent Point at Niantic Assisted Living Community Named One of the Country's Best by U.S. News & World Report for Third St   •   Carbon Removal and Mariculture Legislation Moves Forward in California Assembly   •   United Imaging Healthcare Releases 2023 ESG Report, Advancing Mission of Equal Healthcare for All™   •   29 London Partners With US Media Company Bobi Media to Strengthen Market Offering   •   Suzano 2023 annual report on Form 20-F   •   Brothers to Host Grand Opening Event for JDog Junk Removal & Hauling Business on April 28th   •   United Imaging Healthcare releases 2023 annual report, with revenue growth of 23.52%   •   C2N Diagnostics Expands Into Japan Through Mediford Corporation Partnership With Precivity™ Blood Testing for Alzheimer&rs   •   LENNAR NOW SELLING THREE NEW-HOME COLLECTIONS AT JUNIPERS, SAN DIEGO'S RESORT-STYLE COMMUNITY FOR ACTIVE ADULTS AGED 55 AND BETT   •   Harbor Point at Centerville Assisted Living Community Named One of the Country's Best by U.S. News & World Report for Third   •   Emmy-winning Cyberchase Expands Digital Presence to Engage Every Kid, Everywhere Ahead of Season 15 Premiere
Bookmark and Share

Justice Department Reports Decline In Local Jails Death Rate

WASHINGTON - Mortality rates in local jails declined over the period from 2000 through 2007, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, announced today. A total of 8,110 jail inmates died in custody of local jails over the study period, during which the mortality rate declined from 152 deaths per 100,000 jail inmates in 2000 to 141 per 100,000 in 2007.

During any given year of the eight-year study, more than 80 percent of the approximately 3,000 jail jurisdictions nationwide had no deaths in their custody. During the entire eight-year study period, more than four in 10 jails (42 percent) had no deaths. Among jails reporting at least one death during the entire study period, the majority (83 percent) reported only one death.

Suicide was the single leading cause of death in local jails, accounting for 29 percent of all jail deaths. Between 2000 and 2007, the suicide rate declined from 48 to 36 per 100,000, continuing a longer decline from 129 per 100,000 in 1983.

Deaths from any illness-related cause accounted for more than half (53 percent) of all deaths in local jails. Heart disease was the single leading illness-related cause of death, accounting for 22 percent of all deaths in local jails. Deaths from AIDS-related causes accounted for five percent of all deaths in jails.

During the eight-year period, the largest jails (those with an average daily population of 1,000 inmates or more) held 49 percent of the total jail population and accounted for 52 percent of all deaths in jails. The smallest jails (those with an average daily population of fewer than 50 inmates) held four percent of the jail population and accounted for seven percent of jail deaths.

Smaller jails had the highest mortality rates largely due to suicide. In jails holding an average of fewer than 50 inmates, the mortality rate of 284 per 100,000 inmates was almost twice the national average (145 per 100,000). Suicide rates were highest in smallest jails (169 per 100,000) and lowest in the 50 largest jails (27 per 100,000).

Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of jail deaths occurred within two days of admission; more than one-third (38 percent) within the first seven days; and more than half (56 percent) within 30 days.

Suicide rates in jails were more than three times higher than in the general population. Between 2000 and 2006, when comparable data were available, suicide was the only cause of death that occurred at a higher rate in local jails than in the general population (47 per 100,000 vs 13 per 100,000), after adjusting for differences associated with age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin.

BJS collected these data on deaths in local jails in response to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Act (DICRA) (P.L. 106-297). DICRA required the collection of individual-level records of deaths occuring in jails, in state prisons and during the process of arrest. BJS collects data on deaths in local jails and in state prisons through its Deaths in Custody Reporting Program and on arrest-related deaths through its Arrest-Related Deaths collection.

The report, Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2007 (NCJ 222988), was written by BJS statistician Margaret Noonan. Following publication, the report can be found at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov.

For additional information about the Bureau of Justice Statistics' statistical reports and programs, please visit the BJS Web site at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov.

###
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has seven components: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; the Community Capacity Development Office, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. More information about OJP can be found at http://www.ojp.gov.



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News