A new database from a project to monitor law enforcement and reform in Canada lists more than 2,100 deaths in custody over the past 24 years.

Alexander MacKillop, an assistant professor of criminology at Carleton University and the lead researcher on the Tracking Justice project, said the database was compiled using media reports, regional data, and more than 20 access to information requests.

The searchable dataset includes individuals who died in custody in provincial and federal prisons, as well as youth correctional facilities.

MacKillop and his team found that the average age of deaths in these institutions is 44 years, compared to Canada’s life expectancy of 81 years as of 2022, according to Statistics Canada.

He said the project was collecting information because it is extremely difficult to find data on deaths in custody, especially those occurring in provincial correctional facilities.

The Office of the Correctional Investigator acts as an independent oversight agency for the federal prison system, but there is rarely any independent oversight of provincial jails.

Data collected by the Canadian Press shows that there were 91 deaths in provincial jails across the country in 2023.

The Tracking Justice project is also gathering figures on deaths involving police in Canada.