In custody deaths of men related to mental illness and substance use: A cross-sectional analysis of administrative records in Ontario, Canada

Abstract

Highly publicized incidents of in-custody deaths have drawn attention to the well-being of individuals who are held in custodial settings and have contributed to questions surrounding the role played by mental illness and substance use. The data for this descriptive study consist of administrative records from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. Section 10(4) jury verdicts filed from January 1, 1996 through December 31, 2010 were drawn for analysis. The final sample includes 478 males who died while in custody. Logistic and multinomial regressions were conducted to assess how a history of mental illness and substance use is related to deaths in custody and how those deaths vary across custodial jurisdictions. Approximately half of all deaths in custody occurred among those with a history of mental illness or substance use and those deaths disproportionately occurred in local police or provincial custody, compared to those held in federal custody. Further, the joint effects of a co-occurring history of mental illness and substance use were found to be statistically significant with the strongest effects observed in local police custody. The results from this study underscore concerns surrounding the well-being of individuals with a history of mental illness or substance use and who come into contact with the criminal justice system. With more offenders presenting with complex mental-health and substance-use problems, the implications for local police become apparent in the context of developing policies and practices directed towards preventing deaths.

Keywords: Death in custody; Mental health; Substance use.