Death in Custody Reports
About this dataset
Final date reflected in datasetAugust 02, 2024
CategoriesCorrections, Law enforcement
Tags
Time period2019-2024 (calendar)
DescriptionIllinois Death in Custody Data
The Illinois Reporting of Deaths in Custody Act requires the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority to publish death in custody data. This data table was created to comply with this requirement. With few exceptions, the data was provided to ICJIA by partnering State of Illinois government agencies. Specifically, ICJIA receives death in custody information from the following Illinois government agencies, who in turn receive information from local agencies with reportable incidents: (1) Illinois State Police (incidents involving local law enforcement agencies), (2) Illinois Department of Corrections (incidents occurring at county jails or state adult prisons), (3) Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (incidents occurring at state-operated Youth Centers). In some instances, these agencies were already collecting death in custody information independent from state and federal reporting requirements. For example, prior to enactment of the Illinois Reporting of Deaths in Custody Act, the Illinois State Police was collecting similar information on "arrest-related deaths" pursuant to the Illinois Uniform Crime Reporting Act (50 ILCS 709/5-12(1)). In other instances, agencies provided ICJIA with information that was collected by them specifically for state or agency-level death in custody reporting. Overall, because the data comes from multiple sources, each with distinct reporting capabilities, users should review data definitions. The definitions identify instances when ICJIA analysts made measurement decisions in order to combine slightly different data on the same topic.
Each record in the data table pertains to a single decedent. The Illinois Reporting of Deaths in Custody Act and federal Death in Custody Reporting Act both list specific data elements that must be reported. The available dataset currently includes data from 2019 through present and is updated quarterly. The data includes elements that, as of September 2022, were relatively consistent and available across sources.
Variables
| Name | Type | Definition | Values |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report Identifier | String | The ICJIA assigned unique death report identifier. The identifier is created by ICJIA specifically for the data table and is unrelated to police case or incident numbers. | |
| Responsible Agency | String | The name of the agency that was responsible for taking or maintaining custody of the deceased at the time of death. | |
| Agency Type | String | The classification of the agency that was responsible for taking or maintaining custody of the deceased at the time of death. | Police Department; Sheriff's Office; State Prison |
| Incident Date | Date | The date on which the incident causing death occurred. | MM/DD/YYYY |
| Date of Death | Date | The date on which the deceased was pronounced dead. | MM/DD/YYYY |
| Time of Death | Time | The time at which the deceased was pronounced dead. | HH:MM (Military time) |
| Decedent Age at Death | Integer | The age of the deceased at the time of death. Note: For deaths in which only the birth year of the deceased is known, the age at death is estimated by calculating by the difference in years between the date of death and the birth year of the deceased. | |
| Sex | String | The biological sex of the deceased. | Male; Female |
| Race | String | The race of the deceased. Note: The "Unknown" category is used for instances when the source data explicitly cited "Unknown." If race was left blank in the source data or was unavailable based on how the source agency collects data, then the field is left blank in the data table. | American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Black; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; White; Unknown |
| Ethnicity | String | The ethnicity of the deceased. Note: In some instances, the source data includes “Hispanic” as a category in the same data field as categories such as “Black” and “White”. That is, ethnicity is combined with race. In these instances, the race data field is left blank and the ethnicity data field is “Hispanic.” The race data field is also left blank in instances when ethnicity is not combined with race, but the source data left the race data field blank. The data also includes an “Unknown” category. This category is used in instances when the source data explicitly stated "Unknown" in the ethnicity data field. | Hispanic; Not Hispanic; Unknown |
| Type of Location Where Event Causing Death Occurred | String | The categorization of the location where the event causing the death occurred. | At arrest scene/while effecting an arrest; En route to police booking center/lockup; Booking center; Temporary holding facility or lockup; Municipal or county jail; State prison; State-run boot camp prison; Contracted boot camp prison; Any state or local contract facility; Other local or state correctional facility; Other (please specify) |
| Manner of Death | String | The manner or nature of the cause of death death, usually determined by the medical examiner or coroner. | Accident; Death attributed to use of force by a law enforcement or corrections officer; Homicide; Natural causes; Suicide; Accidental overdose; Unavailable, investigation pending; Other (please specify) |
| Narrative Description: Details of Circumstances Leading to Death | String | A narrative description of the known events and details surrounding the circumstances which led to the death of the deceased. Note: Source records varied widely in the level of narrative detail available. The data table includes the greatest level of detail available for each record. In instances when full narrative descriptions were available, text was redacted to preserve the anonymity of those involved in the incident. Additionally, due to the length of full narrative reports, select verbatim sentences were taken from the reports sufficient to summarize the description of the circumstances leading to death. |