Tracking (In)Justice Project Launches Public Online Database of Over 2100 Deaths in Custody Across Canada Since the Year 2000

Database website: https://trackinginjustice.ca/

Press conference live at 11:00am ET: https://www.youtube.com/live/DBqPsqA7reE

August 9, 2024, Ottawa, Canada: Using publicly available information, the website tracks details about deaths that occur in custody, including the names, dates, institutions involved, and factors related to deaths. The online database includes 2131 deaths in custody across Canada since the year 2000, inclusive of police custody, prisons, jails, youth, immigration, and psychiatric detention. The database will be updated as more information becomes available.

“Despite the high number of deaths occurring in institutions, information on deaths in custody is hard to come by, and often inaccessible to the public,” said Alexander McClelland, Associate Professor, Institute of Criminology, Carleton University, who leads the project. “We hope the database enables communities, lawyers, advocates, and public to understand the extent of deaths in custody, to be better positioned to promote solutions to prevent avoidable deaths,” said McClelland.

“For years, communities on the ground have known there is a deaths-in-custody-crisis happening across Canada,” said Lindsay Jennings, a Research Associate on the project, “This new website shines a light on the issue and to help support calls for more attention and accountability on the issue.”

Key Findings:

• Database includes 2131 deaths in custody across Canada since the year 2000, inclusive of police custody, prisons, jails, youth, immigration, and psychiatric detention.
• Data for 2022 to 2024 is limited due to outstanding Access to Information requests, and thus the data for this timeframe likely represents under-estimates.
• Average age of deaths is 44 years old, while overall life expectancy in Canada is 81 years old, indicating that being in custody could cut someone’s life expectancy almost in half.
• There is an average of 87 deaths per year in the database, however for the past 10 years, the average number of deaths is 118 per year, which indicates a potential increase in deaths in custody overall. 2021 was so far the highest year on record with 196 deaths in custody in the database.
• According to available coroner’s documents 54.7% of deaths (910) were potentially preventable.
• Causes of death include: 21% suicides (452 deaths) (11.3 % of which are due to hangings, or 241 deaths), and 14% are preventable overdoses (299 deaths).
• There have been 328 deaths of people incarcerated on remand, meaning they had not yet been to trial or bail.
• Many unknowns are present in the data, revealing a systemic problem of lack of access to information to the public on deaths in custody. See more of our analysis of the findings here: https://trackinginjustice.ca/findings-and-analysis-deaths-in-custody/

Information from the new database comes from 21 Access to Information and Freedom of Information requests, which came from the Correctional Service Canada, Health Canada, and Justice and Public Safety ministries across the country, along with extensive web scrapping of government websites, media articles and coroners’ documents.

Jeffrey Bradley, a doctoral student researcher on the project notes, “in the database, from 2000 to 2024, there are a total of 279 deaths in police custody (13.1%), 531 deaths in provincial/territorial custody (24.9%), of which 328 were incarcerated on remand, meaning they had not yet been to trial or bail.”

Furthermore, there are 749 deaths in federal custody (35.1%), and 494 deaths where there was not enough information to determine the jurisdiction (23.2%). In the database, there are also 77 deaths that occurred in jurisdictions other jurisdictions, which include hospitals (59 deaths), community corrections and/or youth facilities (13 deaths), and healing lodges (5 deaths).

Jordan Norfield, died in 2020 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He is one of seven people who died in the custody of the Prince Albert Police Service since 2012, six of whom died since 2018. Jordan’s mother, Sandy Pitzel, stated, “My son’s death might have been prevented, but nothing was done to support him. There needs to be greater accountability for the loss of life from these institutions.”

Catherine Latimer, Executive Director of the John Howard Society, stated, “What this data tells us is that many deaths in custody are not due to natural causes, but are due to the conditions of confinement. The average age of deaths is 44 years old. This is not a normal age to die. Furthermore, 54.7% of deaths in custody in the database were potentially preventable, but the system isn’t implementing Coroner’s recommendation nor taking necessary steps to prevent deaths.  This must change.”

Jennifer Chambers, Executive Director of Empowerment Council, a partner on the project notes, “With 21% of the deaths in the database being the result of suicide – half of those of which are hangings – the new database lays bare the ongoing and intensifying degree of misery of people in custody across Canada, who would rather die than remain in their current conditions. These are preventable deaths, but a political will for humane conditions is required. In whatever custody people are held, there needs to be a recognition that most people are trauma survivors and need supports that will help them with this trauma.”

Nicholas Boyce, Policy Director with the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition stated, “Information in the database indicates that proven lifesaving healthcare supports are not being provided to people who use drugs in custody. With a concerning 14% of the deaths in the database being preventable overdose-poisonings, more action is needed to ensure harm reduction interventions reach those who need them.”

McClelland notes, “Until more analysis can be conducted, we urge caution in interpreting the database findings as a real world understanding of deaths in custody across Canada. But as this is the largest dataset on deaths in custody ever created in Canada, and our data sources are mostly directly from government sources, we believe the data can give us a strong indication of potential trends which warrant further investigation.”

Please send media requests to: jeffreybradley@cmail.carleton.ca

Project partners available for comment:

• Alexander McClelland, Associate Professor, Carleton University, lead researcher, Tracking (In)Justice
• Sandy Pitzel, mother of Jordan Norfield
• Catherine Latimer, Executive Director, John Howard Society,
• Nicholas Boyce, Policy Director, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
• Jennifer Chambers, Executive Director, Empowerment Council
• Lindsay Jennings, Research Associate, Tracking (In)Justice

What is Tracking (In)Justice? 

Tracking (In)Justice is a law enforcement and criminal legal data and transparency project that tracks and analyses police-involved deaths and deaths in custody across Canada. We believe that accurate and verifiable data is one way to support communities advocating for justice, accountability, and transparency from state officials, and oversight bodies.

Learn more about us here: https://trackinginjustice.ca/about-the-project/