(Saint John) A new database from a project monitoring law enforcement and correctional services in Canada has identified more than 2,100 deaths in custody over the past 24 years.
Alexander McClelland, an associate professor of criminology at Carleton University and principal investigator of the Tracking (In)Justice project, says the database was compiled from media reports, provincial data and more than 20 access to information requests.
The dataset includes persons who died in custody in provincial and federal prisons, as well as youth correctional facilities.
McClelland and his team found that the average age of death in these facilities is 44, compared to an average Canadian life expectancy of 81 in 2022, according to Statistics Canada.
He explains that the project wanted to compile this information because it is very difficult to find data on deaths in custody, particularly those in provincial correctional facilities.
The Office of the Correctional Investigator acts as an independent oversight agency of the federal prison system, but independent oversight of provincial prisons is rarer.
Data collected by The Canadian Press shows there were 91 deaths in provincial prisons across the country in 2023.
The Tracking (In)Justice project also compiles data on deaths involving police services in Canada.