The Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA; Public Law 113-242) requires states to report to the Attorney General information regarding the death of any person who is either detained, under arrest, in the process of being arrested, en route to be incarcerated, or is incarcerated at a municipal or county jail, state prison, state-run boot camp prison, boot camp prison that is contracted out by the state, or any state or local contract facility, or other local or state correctional facility (including any juvenile facility). These death-in-custody data were previously captured by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).
In 2019, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) took over the aggregation of state and local mortality data on behalf of the Department of Justice. State Administering Agencies (SAAs) continue to be responsible for collecting these data on a quarterly basis from state and local entities including law enforcement agencies, local jails, correctional institutions, medical examiners, and other state agencies. SAAs then compile and submit the data to BJA as part of their Justice Assistance Grant reporting.
In Colorado, reporting is required to the Division of Criminal Justice, which is the SAA for the state. Please fill out the form and submit. It will be approved by DCJ and if there are questions they will be in contact with the submitter.
Please note that reporting is required for all persons:
- Detained
- Under arrest
- In the process of being arrested
- En route to be incarcerated
- Incarcerated at a municipal or county jail, state prison, state-run boot camp prison, boot camp prison that is contracted out by the state, or any state or local contract facility, or other local or state correctional facility (including any juvenile facility)