ST. JOHN’S, N.L. –
A new database from a project monitoring law enforcement and corrections in Canada lists more than 2,100 deaths in custody over the past 24 years.
Alexander McClelland, associate criminology professor at Carleton University and lead researcher with the Tracking (In)Justice project, says the database was compiled using media reports, provincial data and more than 20 freedom of information requests.
The searchable data set includes people who have died in custody in provincial jails and federal prisons, as well as correctional facilities for youth.
McClelland and his team found that the average age of deaths in these institutions is 44, compared with an average Canadian life expectancy of 81 as of 2022, according to Statistics Canada.
He says the project compiled the information because it’s far too difficult to find data about deaths in custody, particularly …