Chicago Police DepartmentSpecial Order S04-13-11
Federal Death in Custody Reporting
Issue Date:03 September 2004Effective Date:04 September 2004
Rescinds:A04-11
Index Category:Preliminary Investigations
I.Purpose
This directive:
  • A.introduces the Deaths In Custody Reporting Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-297) which requires law enforcement agencies to report the circumstances of deaths of persons in custody.
  • B.introduces the Law Enforcement Custodial Death Report (Form CJ-11A) (12/03) and the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) Deaths in Law Enforcement Custody Cover Sheet.
  • C.establishes unit responsibility for the completion and submission of the Law Enforcement Custodial Death Report.
II.General Information
The Deaths In Custody Reporting Act of 2000 requires all law enforcement agencies to report information to the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) regarding the death of any person who is in the process of arrest, is en route to being incarcerated, or is incarcerated in a jail or correctional facility. As a statistical research agency, the BJS has no investigative, monitoring, or oversight function and is expressly prohibited under its authorizing statute and regulations from providing personally identifiable data to investigative or prosecutorial offices within the Justice Department or any other agency. The BJS will use the reported information to develop statistics on the frequency and circumstances surrounding deaths that occurred while persons were in law enforcement custody. The ICJIA has been selected to compile this data from all law enforcement and corrections agencies in the State of Illinois.
III.Incidents that Require the Completion of a Law Enforcement Custodial Death Report
  • A.All deaths of persons arrested or subject to arrest must be reported. Such deaths include those that occur:
    • 1.in the physical custody or under the physical restraint of law enforcement officers, even if the person was not formally under arrest at the time.
    • 2.during the use of force by law enforcement officers.
    • 3.at a crime scene, arrest scene, or medical facility, prior to booking.
    • 4.while in transit to or from law enforcement facilities.
    • 5.while confined in Department lockup facilities.
  • B.The following deaths do not require a Law Enforcement Custodial Death Report:
    • 1.A person killed in the course of law enforcement activities against whom no charges were intended, such as:
      • a.innocent bystanders;
      • b.hostages, or;
      • c.law enforcement personnel.
    • 2.A person who dies while not in police custody or under the physical restraint of law enforcement officers, such as:
      • a.pre-arrest suicides or;
      • b.vehicular deaths during a pursuit.
IV.Responsibilities
  • A.Detective Division Supervisor
    • 1.The immediate supervisor of the detective assigned to investigate the death of a person in law enforcement custody will be responsible for the completion of the Law Enforcement Custodial Death Report. For tracking purposes, the supervisor will record the Records Division (RD) number of the case on the CJ-11A Addendum in the blank space above question 1.
    • 2.The supervisor will submit the report through the chain of command to the Office of the Chief of Detectives.
  • B.Chief of Detectives
    The Chief, Detective Detective Division will:
    • 1.ensure that the supervisor of any detective assigned to a case involving a death fitting the parameters described in Item III-A of this directive completes and submits a Law Enforcement Custodial Death Report in a timely manner. Completed reports submitted to the Office of the Chief of Detectives will then be forwarded to the Department Statistician, Research and Development Division, Unit 127.
    • 2.serve as the contact person within the Chicago Police Department for the ICJIA for all other issues relating to the Law Enforcement Custodial Death Report.
  • C.Department Statistician, Research and Development Division
    The Department Statistician will:
    • 1.upon receipt of a completed Law Enforcement Custodial Death Report, complete the ICJIA Cover Sheet and submit it and the completed report to the ICJIA, as designated on the cover sheet.
    • 2.forward a copy of the completed ICJIA Cover Sheet and Law Enforcement Custodial Death Report to the Records Services Division.
  • D.Other Department Personnel
    Any other Department member who receives a request to complete a Law Enforcement Custodial Death Report will immediately forward that request directly to the Chief of Detectives.
  • E.Records Services Division Personnel
    Upon receipt of a completed ICJIA Cover Sheet and Law Enforcement Custodial Death Report, Records Services Division personnel will file the report along with other case documents.
Philip. J. Cline
Superintendent of Police
04-132 LMT(PMD)