FY 2017 Correctional Mortality Statistics Program

The CMSP collection is a national database containing information about each death occurring in state and federal prisons and in local jails. Data on inmates who die while in the custody of local, state, or federal authorities are submitted annually, and provide data on the cause and manner of death, individual demographic and criminal justice characteristics, and circumstances surrounding the death. In addition, summary statistics about jail population, annual admissions and releases are obtained through a summary form each year, to provide accurate denominators for calculating mortality rates. The data collection agent will be responsible for initiating and maintaining contact throughout the year with the state and federal departments of corrections and administrators of all local jails; collecting the aggregate and individual-level data; performing non-response follow-up to ensure critical items (including cause of death) are complete; preparing and analyzing the data for use in BJS reports; and proposing and undertaking original research on the CMSP data. In particular, BJS is interested in improving the timeliness of data delivery and dissemination for CMSP.