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Pennsylvania State Senate
07/03/2024 03:37 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?SPick=20230&chamber=S&cosponId=39542
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: January 26, 2023 05:02 PM
From: Senator Amanda M. Cappelletti
To: All Senate members
Subject: Death in Custody Reporting Act
 
In the near future, I plan to offer legislation that would require law enforcement agencies to comply with the federal Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA). The DCRA requires state and federal law enforcement agencies to report any deaths of individuals in police custody, under their jurisdiction, to the Federal Government.
 
The DCRA was enacted to address a lack of reliable information about deaths in the custody of law enforcement and correctional institutions.
 
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania holds one of the highest death rates among individuals in custody across the nation. Unfortunately, the numbers of those dying in custody continues to rise. Pennsylvania’s state prison deaths rose from 171 in 2019 to 239 in 2020.
 
In Pennsylvania county jails, 56 deaths were recorded by the state in 2020. Not only was this the highest death rate in 20 years, less than half of those deaths were then reported to the federal government.
 
Comprehensive reporting of these deaths is intended to serve as a vital tool for public health and accountability. Accurate and consistent data provides officials with insight surrounding premature deaths in custody and helps to highlight practices and policies to create a safer criminal justice system.
 
This legislation would require all state and local law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities to report the death of a person in custody to the Pennsylvania Attorney General within 30 days of the death. Any failure to report would be a misdemeanor and agencies may be fined for noncompliance.
 
I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this legislation that will provide much-needed oversight to deaths in police custody, and work to maintain the legitimacy and integrity of the criminal justice system here in Pennsylvania.
 


Introduced as SB996