Dataset types  

The Third City Project offers data on deaths in custody by request. We currently have the following types of datasets available. A full table of available data is available here.  

1. Individual-level datasets of deaths in custody.

    Data are categorized by state or federal prison system. These are obtained either by public records requests or through manual collection of online death announcements. Data are sorted by individual circumstances of each death. Depending on the system, variables may include the decedent’s name/characteristics, facility where they were housed, and circumstances of the death. 

2. Aggregate-level counts of deaths in custody

   Data are categorized by state or federal prison system. These are obtained either by public records requests or through manual collection. Data are collected as the total number of deaths per year across a system/by facility within a system. In some cases these may be disaggregated by cause of death.  

3. Real-time reporting on deaths in custody since January 1, 2022 

   We currently have information on deaths in custody from January 1, 2022 – present extracted weekly, available by state. Each state’s file includes individual-level death circumstances. These are not included in the “Data Ordering Menu,” but are available for all 50 states. These files include prisons, jails, and BOP facilities.  

We currently have information on deaths in custody from January 1, 2022 – present extracted weekly, available by state. Each state’s file includes individual-level death circumstances. These are not included in the “Data Ordering Menu,” but are available for all 50 states. These files include prisons, jails, and BOP facilities.  

Cost  

There is no cost to obtain raw data through the Third City Project.  

If your project requires analysis or interpretation of the data, please contact us about fees.  

Request process 

Please fill out the data request form. We will contact you to set up a meeting to discuss your team’s data needs in more depth.  

If the project is an appropriate use of the data, we will send your team a copy of the raw data and corresponding data dictionary.  

Citation   

If using data from the Third City Project in a publicly available report or publication, please use the following citation: 

• [Dataset name], Third City Project, University of North Carolina, www.3rdcityproject.com