Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA; Pub. L. No. 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, any state or local contract facility, or other local or state correctional facility (including any juvenile facility). The Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement reports death-in-custody data for the state.
EXAMPLES OF REPORTABLE AND NON-REPORTABLE SCENARIOS
1. What deaths are required to be reported under DCRA?
Per the statute, states are to report “information regarding the death of any person who is detained, under arrest, or is in the process of being arrested, is 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, any state or local contract facility, or other local or state correctional facility (including any juvenile facility).”
2. The following are scenarios where a decedent commits suicide while being detained by law enforcement officers:
a. Response is for a person with a mental disturbance or a distraught person where the result of police custody would have been to transport them for mental health evaluation prior to determining any criminal charges.
Yes. This is reportable.
b. Response is for a person who is a suspect in a crime, or a person wanted for questioning, whether an arrest warrant has been issued or not.
Yes. This reportable.
3. Police officers pursue a burglar, during which the suspect produces a weapon threatening officer. The suspect is then shot and killed by the officers without an officer ever having “put hands on the suspect” to physically attempt an arrest prior to the shooting.
Yes. This is reportable.
4. The following are scenarios where a death occurred during police pursuit of a robber:
a. Crashes and dies as a result of officers engaged in an active vehicle pursuit.
Yes. This is reportable.
b. Crashes and dies although officers terminated the pursuit for safety reasons and no police vehicles were obviously in pursuit.
No. This is not reportable.
5. Are deaths that occur to bystanders during law enforcement pursuit considered reportable?
No. These are not reportable.
6. Police contact (e.g., a brief detention such as a traffic stop, questioning an individual who matches a suspect description) results in an individual being delayed from going about their intended business. The individual then has a medical emergency and dies.
Yes. This is reportable.
7. If an inmate is transferred to a medical facility and dies there, not in a correctional facility, is that reportable?
Yes. If the incarcerated person, absent the medical condition, would have been in prison at the time of death, it counts as a reportable death. Although the person was not physically in a correctional facility at the time of death, the death is still one of an “incarcerated individual.”
8. Are deaths occurring in halfway houses included?
Deaths occurring in a halfway house are included if the halfway house is under contract with the state or local government. A death occurring in a private halfway house that is not under contract with a reporting entity is not reportable.
9. Should we report the location of the event leading to the death of the decedent or the location where the decedent actually dies (e.g., an offender is in critical condition following a reportable event and transported to a hospital where they are pronounced dead)?
The location of the death is where they died not the location of the event leading to the death.
10. Is a decedent’s overdose death, which occurs before an officer arrives on-scene, reportable?
This is not a reportable death.
Reporting Deadlines
Reporting deadlines are listed below. However, you may complete the form any time during the quarter in which a death occurred, instead of waiting until due date.
| Program Reports Due | Reporting Period | Quarter |
| January 10 | October 1 – December 31 | 1st |
| April 10 | January 1 – March 31 | 2nd |
| July 10 | April 1 – June 30 | 3rd |
| October 10 | July 1 – September 30 | 4th |
If you have any questions or issues completing this form, please contact Linda Gautier at 225.342.1703.
Please complete Death in Custody form below: