Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA)

In December 2014, Congress enacted the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 (DCRA).  DCRA requires states and federal law enforcement agencies to report to the U.S. Department of Justice information regarding the death of any person who is (1) detained by law enforcement; (2) under arrest; (3) in the process of being arrested; (4) en route to being incarcerated or detained; of (5) incarcerated at any correctional facility, including contract facilities.  Collectively, all five of these circumstances are referred to as “deaths in custody”.

Starting October 1, 2019, the Department of Public Safety must collect and report on all deaths in custody within the State of Missouri.  Quarterly reports are due to the U.S. Department of Justice by January 30th, April 30th, July 30th, and October 30th each year.

Missouri agencies experiencing a death in custody event are asked to collect and submit, in a timely manner, the following data collection template:

Death in Custody Reporting Act - FAQs

Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) Data Collection Template (revised 6/11/2020)

For more information, please call (573) 751-4905.