Congress finally passes the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.

Congress has now passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013.  We really have no idea now how many people die during an arrest or while being held in jail.  Some agencies report these figures, and others do not, or only report sporadically and incompletely. . .

Democratic Representative Bobby Scott , of Virginia's 3rd Congressional District, sponsored the House version of the bill. Thursday, he released this statement:

"It is clear that the federal government needs to exercise greater oversight of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel to ensure that they are protecting and serving our citizens. To aid in that measure, we need data on deaths that occur within our criminal justice system. Without accurate data, it is nearly impossible to identify variables that lead to an unnecessary and unacceptable risk of individuals dying in custody or during an arrest. The passage of the Death in Custody Reporting Act will make this information available, so policymakers will be in a position to enact initiatives that will reduce incidences of avoidable deaths in our criminal justice system."

From Congress.gov:

"Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 - Requires states that receive allocations under specified provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, whether characterized as the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Programs, the Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, or otherwise, to report to the Attorney General on a quarterly basis certain information regarding the death of any person who is detained, arrested, en route to incarceration, or incarcerated in state or local facilities or a boot camp prison. Imposes penalties on states that fail to comply with such reporting requirements..

 "Requires the head of each federal law enforcement agency to report to the Attorney General annually certain information regarding the death of any person who: (1) is detained or arrested by any officer of such agency (or by any state or local law enforcement officer for purposes of a federal law enforcement operation); or (2) is en route to be incarcerated or detained, or is incarcerated or detained, at any federal correctional facility or federal pretrial detention facility located within the United States or any other facility pursuant to a contract with or used by such agency.

"Requires the Attorney General to study such information and report on means by which it can be used to reduce the number of such deaths."

The House of Representatives approved the Death in Custody Reporting Act by voice vote last December (2013), and the Senate passed the bill Wednesday night. The legislation will now go to the President for his signature. . .or veto.

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