California Legal Codes and Statutes

§ 5021

Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 24, Sec. 49. (AB 1470) Effective June 27, 2012.
(a)Any death that occurs in any facility operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the State Department of State Hospitals, a city, county, or city and county, including county juvenile facilities, or any facility which is under contract with any of these entities for the incarceration, rehabilitation, holding, or treatment of persons accused or convicted of crimes, shall be reported

within a reasonable time, not to exceed two hours, of its discovery by authorities in the facility to the county sheriff, or his or her designated representative, and to the coroner’s office, of the county in which the facility is located, as provided in Section 27491 of the Government Code. These deaths shall also be reported to the district attorney, or his or her designated representative, of the county in which the facility is located as soon as a representative of the district attorney’s office is on duty. If the facility is located within the city limits of an incorporated city, the report shall also be made to the chief of police in that city, or to his or her designated representative, within a reasonable time, not to exceed two hours, of its discovery.

Any death of a person in a facility operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall also be reported to the Chief of Medical Services in the Central Office of the Department of Corrections

and Rehabilitation, or his or her designated representative, as soon as a representative of that office is on duty.

(b)The initial report of the death of a person required in subdivision (a) may be transmitted by telephone, direct contact, or by written notification, and shall outline all pertinent facts known at the time the report is made and all persons to contact, in addition to any other information the reporting person or officer deems pertinent.
(c)The initial report of the death of a person as required in subdivision (a) shall be supplemented by a written report, which shall be submitted to the entities listed in subdivision (a) within eight hours of the discovery of the death. This written report shall include all circumstances and details of the death that were known at the time the report was prepared, and shall include the names of all persons involved in the death,

and all persons with knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the death.

Cite this section

Cal. Pen. Code § 5021 (2026)
https://ca.codecond.com/codes/pen/part-3-of-imprisonment-and-the-death-penalty/title-7-administration-of-the-state-correctional-system/chapter-1-the-department-of-corrections-and-rehabilitation/section-5021

Other sections in Chapter 1 - The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

§ 5000§ 5000.5§ 5001§ 5002§ 5003§ 5003.1§ 5003.2§ 5003.5§ 5004§ 5004.5…§ 5026§ 5027§ 5028§ 5029§ 5030.1§ 5031§ 5032§ 5033§ 5034§ 5035

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