Circumstances and toxicology of violence-related deaths among young people who have had contact with the youth justice system: a data linkage study

BACKGROUND: Young people who have had contact with the youth justice system have an increased risk of dying from violence. Examining the context of violence-related deaths is essential in informing prevention strategies. We examined the circumstances and toxicology of violence-related deaths among young people who have had contact with the youth justice system in Queensland, Australia. METHODS: This data linkage study linked youth justice records from Queensland, Australia (30 June 1993-1 July 2014) on 48,670 young people to national death and coroner records (1 July 2000-1 January 2017). Circumstances and toxicology of deaths were coded from coroner's records. We calculated the incidence of violence-related deaths that were reported to a coroner. Fisher's exact tests were used to examine crude differences in the circumstances and toxicology of violence-related death, according to sex and Indigenous status. RESULTS: There were 982 deaths reported to a coroner in the cohort. Of which, 36 (4%) were from violence-related causes (incidence: 6 per 100,000 person-years, 95% confidence interval: 4-8). People who died from violence were most frequently male (n = 28/36; 78%), and almost half were Indigenous (n = 16/36; 44%). The majority of violence-related deaths involved a weapon (n = 24/36; 67%), most commonly a knife (n = 17/36; 47%). Compared to men where the violent incident was most frequently preceded by an altercation (n = 12/28; 43%), for women it was frequently preceded by a relationship breakdown or argument (n < 5; p = 0.004). Substances most commonly present in toxicology reports were cannabis (n = 16/23; 70%) and alcohol (n = 15/23; 65%). CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic alcohol and other drug programs, both in the community and detention, are likely important for reducing violence-related deaths among young people who have had contact with the youth justice system. The majority of violence-related deaths among women were in the context of intimate partner violence, i