Deaths of inmates in federal custody are regularly announced by Correctional Service Canada but the agency says their numbers have remained relatively stable over recent years, although non-natural deaths are higher than the set objective.
The total number of deaths in custody in federal institutions for the current fiscal year and as of Feb. 6 was 50, with 19 of those being non-natural, according to data provided by the agency.
Total counts were 51 for fiscal year 2018/2019, 62 for 2019/2020, 69 for 2020/2021, and 59 for 2021/2022.
Fiscal year 2019/2020 saw the most non-natural deaths over the past five years with 23.
The agency noted rates of 1.34 in 2018/2019, 1.75 in 2019/2020, and 1.53 in 2020/2021.
“Deaths in custody remain a complex issue for all correctional jurisdictions and we recognizes that is vital to continuously work to enhance relevant prevention and intervention strategies,” CSC spokeswoman Marie Pier Lécuyer told The Epoch Times.
Lécuyer provided a breakdown of causes for natural deaths, but said that due to privacy reasons data on non-natural deaths cannot be shared.
She said the two most common causes of natural death for inmates in federal institutions are cardiovascular-related and cancer, with 59 dying of a cardiovascular issue and 56 of cancer over the last five years.
The non-natural deaths for fiscal 2016/2017 included three suicides, four overdoses and two homicides.
Over a 17-year period from 2000 to 2017, the top causes of non-natural death were suicide (157), overdose (69), and homicide (43).
CSC says the typical profile for an offender dying of non-natural causes was of White ethnicity (67 percent), under the age of 44 (67 percent), serving time for a homicide related offence (44 percent), and serving time in a medium security institution (67 percent).
CSC also noted at the time of death the inmate had served a relatively short amount of time, such as less than five years of his sentence (67 percent).
The agency says it reviews the circumstances of an inmate’s death and policy requires it to notify police and the coroner.
The police agency conducts the internal investigation meanwhile the coroner determines the cause of death.
As for deaths by natural causes, Lécuyer says a review of the health care provided related to the cause of death is conducted.
The name of the inmate, the institution where he was incarcerated, and the sentence he was purging are the details released, whereas the cause of death is kept confidential.
