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

Mortality in Correctional Institutions (MCI) (formerly Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP)) is a voluntary data collection conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). BJS annually collects data on individual death records for all persons incarcerated in state prison or local jail facilities. Between 2003 and 2014, BJS also collected data on persons who died while in the process of arrest.

The MCI began in 2000 in response to the passage of the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) of 2000 (P.L. 106-297). The MCI collects many, but not all, of the elements outlined in the Death in Custody Reporting Act reauthorization (P.L. 113-242), but because the MCI is collected for statistical purposes only, it cannot be used for DCRA enforcement.

Jails report the death of any inmate in their custody, even if the inmate was being held for another jurisdiction, such as the state department of corrections, another state or county, or the federal government. Jail deaths include the death of any inmate sent outside the jail facility for medical, mental health, or substance abuse treatment services, or for work-release programs. Deaths that occur while an inmate is in transit to or from the jail facility are included. Deaths of jail inmates on temporary furloughs or who escaped from the jail facility are excluded. BJS annually collects death records and year-end collections of population and admissions data from all jail jurisdictions nationwide. An average of 98% of the approximately 2,800 jail jurisdictions in the United States have reported to the MCI (formerly DCRP) since 2000.

State prisoner death counts include the death of any inmate held in a private prison facility under contract to the state's department of corrections. Deaths of inmates in private facilities are counted in the state that had jurisdiction over the inmate, not the state where the private facility is located. State prisons report the death of any inmate sent outside the prison facility for treatment services or for work-release programs. Deaths that occur while a prisoner is in transit to or from the prison are included. Deaths of prisoners on temporary furloughs or who escaped from the prison facility are excluded. Executions are excluded because capital punishment cases are tracked under the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program. In each year all 50 state departments of corrections responded to the collection. The District of Columbia submitted prison population data until 2001, then it transferred all custody operations to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Until 2015, the BOP reported aggregate death counts to BJS. Starting with the 2015 reference year, the BOP submitted detailed data about each prisoner's death.

When the DCRA of 2000 was passed, only two states (California and Texas) collected information on all types of arrest-related deaths. For the remaining 48 states and the District of Columbia, the DCRP collection was the first attempt to perform a comprehensive count of all arrest-related deaths. BJS worked with state officials to determine which agency would collect arrest-related death reports. A state criminal justice commission, commonly administered by the governor's office, was the most common data reporting contact (22 states), followed by the state attorney general and state police department (8 states each). In five states, the department of corrections took a lead role in compiling records. In over 30 states, the reporting office also served as a state criminal justice Statistical Analysis Center (SAC).

Due to concerns regarding data quality and coverage issues, BJS temporarily suspended the arrest-related death (ARD) portion of the DCRP in 2014.