01-11353. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed collection, Comment Request; Deaths In Custody, 2001

ACTION:

Notice of information collection under review; revision of a currently approved collection.

The Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, has submitted the following information collection request for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This proposed information collection is published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies. Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for “sixty days” until July 6, 2001.

If you have additional comments, suggestions, or additional information, especially regarding the estimated public burden and associated response time, please write to Lawrence A. Greenfeld, Acting Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh St., NW, Washington, DC 20531. If you need a copy of the collection instruments with instructions, or have additional information, please contact Christopher Mumola at [phone], or via facsimile at 202-514-1757. Request written comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information.

Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information should address one or more of the following four points:

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

(3) Enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Overview of this information collection:

(1) Type of information collection: Revision of a currently approved collection.

(2) The title of the Form/Collection: Deaths In Custody, 2000—

Quarterly Summary of Inmate Deaths in State Prison; State Prison Inmate Death Report

Quarterly Summary of Deaths in State Juvenile Residential Facilities; State Juvenile Residential Death Report

Quarterly Report on Inmates Under Jail Jurisdiction; Annual Summary on Inmates Under Jail Jurisdiction;

Quarterly Report on Inmates in Private and Multi-Jurisdiction Jails;

Annual Summary on Inmates in Private and Multi-Jurisdiction Jails.

(3) The agency form number and the applicable component of the Department sponsoring the collection: Forms: NPS-4, NPS-4A, NPS-5, NPS-5A, CJ-9, CJ-9a, CJ-10 and CJ-10A. Corrections Statistics Unit, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice.

(4) Affected public who will be asked to respond, as well as a brief abstract: Primary: Local jail administrators, (one reporter from each of the 3,083 local jail jurisdictions in the United States), State prison administrators (one reporter from each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia) and State juvenile correctional administrators (one reporter from each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia) responsible for keeping records on inmates will be asked to provide information for the following categories:

(a) During each reporting quarter, the numbers of deaths of persons in their custody; and

(b) As of January 1 and December 31 of each reporting year, the number of male and female inmates in their custody (local jails only); and

(c) Between January 1 and December 31 of each reporting year, the number of male and female inmates admitted to their custody (local jails only); and

(d) The name, date of birth, gender, race/ethnic origin, and date of death for each inmate who died in their custody during each reporting quarter; and

(e) The admission date, legal status, and current offenses for each inmate who died in their custody during the reporting quarter; and

(f) Whether or not an autopsy was conducted by a medical examiner or coroner to determine the cause of each inmate death that took place in their custody during the reporter quarter; and

(g) The location and cause of each inmate death that took place in their custody during the reporting quarter; and

(h) In cases where the cause of death was illness/natural causes (including AIDS), whether or not the cause of each inmate death was the result of a pre-existing medical condition, and whether or not the inmate had been receiving treatment for that medical condition; and

(i) In cases where the cause of death was accidental injury, suicide, or homicide, when and where the incident causing the inmate's death took place.

As part of the conference agreement for FY2000 appropriations, the Bureau of Justice Statistics was directed by the U.S. Congress “to implement a voluntary annual reporting system of all deaths occurring in law enforcement custody.” BJS received OMB approval to conduct such an annual collection (OMB No. 1121-0249). In the time since submitting that collection for OMB aproval, the President signed The Deaths in Custody Act of 2000 into law (PL 106-297). To comply with PL 106-297's new requirement for a quarterly collection of inmate death data from local jails, State prisons, juvenile facilities and police custody, BJS is now submitting for clearance the following series of forms:NPS-4, NPS-4A, NPS-5, NPS-5A, CJ-9, CJ-9a, CJ-10 and CJ-10A.

This collection will supplement the annual data on prison inmate deaths which the Bureau of Justice Statistics already collects as part of the National Prisoners Statistics program and the National Corrections Reporting Program. The Bureau of Justice Statistics will use this new information to publish an annual report on deaths in custody. The report will be made available to the U.S. Congress, Executive Office of the President, practitioners, researchers, students, the media, and other interested in criminal justice statistics and data.

(5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount of time needed for an average respondent to respond is broken down as follows:

The total number of respondents for this information collection is 3,185 and the time per survey is as follows:

Local jails/quarterly—3,083 respondents (average response time=5 minutes+30 minutes per reported death)

Local jails/annual—3,083 respondents (average response time=15 minutes)

State prisons/quarterly—51 respondents (average response time=5 minutes)

State prisons addendum/quarterly—51 respondents (average response time=30 minutes per reported death)

State juvenile corrections/quarterly—51 respondents (average response time=5 minutes)

State juvenile corrections addendum/quarterly—51 respondents (average response time=30 minutes per reported death)

(6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated with the collection: 3,802 burden hours.

If additional information is required, contact: Mrs. Brenda E. Dyer, Deputy Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, Information Management and Security Staff, Justice Management Division, National Place, Suite 1220, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530.

Dated: April 30, 2001.

Brenda E. Dyer,

Department Deputy Clearance Officer, Department of Justice.