Tracking (In)Justice project launches public online database of deaths in custody across Canada

Tracking (In)Justice project launches public online database of over 2100 deaths in custody across Canada since the year 2000

Database website: https://trackinginjustice.ca/

August 9, 2024, Ottawa, Canada: Using publicly available information, the website tracks details about deaths that occur in custody, including the names, dates, institutions involved, and factors related to deaths. The online database includes 2131 deaths in custody across Canada since the year 2000, inclusive of police custody, prisons, jails, youth, immigration, and psychiatric detention. The database will be updated as more information becomes available.

Featuring:
Sandy Pitzel, mother of Jordan Norfield
Loreen St. Amour, mother of Justin St. Amour
Martha Martin, mother of Mike Marton
Catherine Latimer, Executive Director, John Howard Society
Nicholas Boyce, Policy Director, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
Jennifer Chambers, Executive Director, Empowerment Council
Lindsay Jennings, Research Associate, Tracking (In)Justice
Jeffrey Bradley, Researcher, Tracking (In)Justice
Alexander McClelland, Associate Professor, Carleton University

“Despite the high number of deaths occurring in institutions, information on deaths in custody is hard to come by, and often inaccessible to the public,” said Alexander McClelland, Associate Professor, Institute of Criminology, Carleton University, who leads the project. “We hope the database enables communities, lawyers, advocates, and public to understand the extent of deaths in custody, to be better positioned to promote solutions to prevent avoidable deaths,” said McClelland.

“For years, communities on the ground have known there is a deaths-in-custody-crisis happening across Canada,” said Lindsay Jennings, a Research Associate on the project, “This new website shines a light on the issue and to help support calls for more attention and accountability on the issue.”

To learn more about our methods and to explore the data, look here: https://trackinginjustice.ca/explore-...