Search results

The amount of overlap between criminal justice practices and public health is growing and more research is needed to guide new initiatives. This study was designed to assess the relationships between various chronic medical conditions, substance use severity, mental health indicators and criminal justice contact using the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Analyses were conducted in three stages to comprehensively examine the relationships between various indicators of physical health, mental health, substance use severity and criminal justice contact.

Results demonstrate indicators of substance use severity surpass physical and mental health conditions as stronger determinants of any criminal justice contact, as well as repeated interactions with police. In addition, combinations of multiple conditions increase the likelihood of criminal justice involvement, but substance use remains a consistent factor contributing to the strongest associations. These findings highlight the importance of capitalizing on the initial point of criminal justice contact to address substance use to prevent further and subsequent involvement in the system.

Criminal justice initiatives based on least harm solutions require evidence to support public health-oriented approaches. The unique approach to examining the intersection of criminal justice practices and health provided in this study can be used to inform alternates to arrest.

The least harmful practices should be adopted to address health conditions at the time of criminal justice contact. These practices should focus heavily on injection drug use as a primary factor associated with the prior arrest. Practices designed to divert arrestees with health conditions away from jails are needed. Law enforcement practices can significantly benefit from public health-oriented approaches.

Criminal justice initiatives based on least harm solutions require evidence to support public health-oriented approaches. The unique approach to examining the intersection of criminal justice practices and health provided in this study can be used to inform alternates to arrest.

Introduction. This study examined the association between self-rated physical and oral health, cigarette smoking, and history of criminal justice contact (i.e., never arrested; arrested, but never incarcerated; or incarcerated in reform school, detention, jail, or prison) among African American men and women. Methods. We conducted descriptive statistical, linear regression, and multinomial regression analyses of the African American subsample (n = 3,570) from the National Survey of American Life (2001–2003). Results. Overall, African American women reported lower arrest rates and histories of incarceration than African American men. Additionally, we found that criminal justice contact was associated with lower self-rated physical health and oral health and higher levels of smoking for both men and women. African American women who had been arrested and detained in facilities other than jail had more chronic health problems than their male counterparts. Furthermore, having been arrested or spent time in a reform school, detention center, jail, or prison significantly increased the odds of African American men being a current smoker. Lastly, among African American women, those who had any level of criminal justice contact were likely to be current smokers and former smokers compared to those without a history of criminal justice contact. Conclusion. Addressing the health of African Americans with criminal justice contact is a critical step in reducing health disparities and improving the overall health and well-being of African American men and women. Furthermore, attention to differences by gender and specific types of criminal justice contact are important for a more precise understanding of these relationships.

The rapidly increasing number of older adults cycling through local criminal justice systems (jails, probation, and parole) suggests a need for greater collaboration among a diverse group of local stakeholders including professionals from healthcare delivery, public health, and criminal justice and directly affected individuals, their families, and advocates. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework that local communities can use to understand and begin to address the needs of criminal justice-involved older adults.

The framework included solicit input from community stakeholders to identify pressing challenges facing criminal justice-involved older adults, conduct needs assessments of criminal justice-involved older adults and professionals working with them; implement quick-response interventions based on needs assessments; share findings with community stakeholders and generate public feedback; engage interdisciplinary group to develop an action plan to optimize services.

A five-step framework for creating an interdisciplinary community response is an effective approach to action planning and broad stakeholder engagement on behalf of older adults cycling through the criminal justice system.

This study proposes the Criminal Justice Involved Older Adults in Need of Treatment Initiative Framework for establishing an interdisciplinary community response to the growing population of medically and socially vulnerable criminal justice-involved older adults.

The purpose of this study was to describe programs that aim at programs to divert people with a mental condition from the criminal justice system to mental health services are being initiated, but reporting is limited and fragmented. This study described programs that aim at diverting persons with mental health conditions out of criminal justice systems to community mental health services, with the intention to inform research and practice.

A scoping review was used to map and synthesise diversion programs. Ten online data bases were searched. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews was used to direct the selection of sources. Research and evaluation publications and grey literature published from 2010 to 2021 in English language were included.

Eight distinct diversion programs were identified across 24 countries or territories covering five phases of the criminal justice process. Diversion programs included crisis intervention teams, the electronic linkage system, mobile crisis units, the criminal justice liaison program, problem-solving courts, the abstinence-based program, the community equivalence program and the forensic assertive community treatment program. Although distinct programs have the potential to form a system of diversion across the continuum of the criminal justice process, only two territories moved in that direction. Diversion programs reported overwhelmingly originated from high-income countries.

Stigma that labels people with mental health conditions as violent and dangerous need to be addressed. It is important to place diversion systems on national policy agendas and advocate for evidence-based interventions.

The study provides a blueprint on diversion systems to set a research agenda and develop a road map, tailored towards local contexts.

In December 2007, Lord Bradley was asked by the Government, in a six‐month period, to review court liaison and diversion schemes for mentally ill people. A year and a half later, and having extended the brief to encompass the entire criminal justice system, Lord Bradley has reported. The Government has now responded to Bradleys’ findings (Ministry of Justice, 2009) so it is timely to comment on the review particularly in relation to prisons in England. The English prison population is almost at its highest ever level and currently stands at around 82,000 people ‐ according to the Prison Service’s standard of certified normal accommodation, the prison population is now 8000 more than it should be. As HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Anne Owers, has noted ‘activity and support from staff . . . were the two things thought to be most helpful by prisoners with mental health and emotional problems, in over‐crowded and under‐resourced prisons these essential elements of care are at a premium’ (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, 2007).

Drawing on multi-method research conducted in 2013-2014, the purpose of this paper is to consider the extent and nature of disadvantage experienced by individuals with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities (PID) who come into contact with the criminal justice system in Zambia. The research was conducted as part of a wider project aiming to bring about improvements in how people with PID are dealt with by the criminal justice services.

The research activities included interviews with 29 individuals with PID who had experienced the criminal justice system as suspects, defendants or prisoners (“self-advocates”). A focus group and interviews were also conducted with the family members of people with PID who had criminal justice experience.

People with PID in contact with the criminal justice services in Zambia are disadvantaged and discriminated against routinely and systematically. Like all detainees, they experience harsh and at times brutal conditions of detention. However, because of their disabilities, such experiences can be more keenly felt: their disabilities may be exacerbated by detention or by limited or non-existent health care; and they are likely to be less resourceful than other detainees and, therefore, less able to cope with the privations of detention.

In drawing on the self-advocate interviews, this paper presents direct, vivid accounts of what it means to be a suspect, defendant or prisoner with disabilities in Zambia. These are extremely marginalised and multiply disadvantaged individuals whose voices are rarely heard.

Although precise numbers are unknown, it is generally acknowledged that between 5‐10% of the offending population are people with learning disabilities. While there are few provisions that explicitly target defendants with learning disabilities there is a general recognition in law that defendants must be able to understand and participate effectively in the criminal proceedings of which they are a part. The implications of the principle of effective participation are that criminal prosecution may be deemed inappropriate for certain defendants with learning disabilities, in which case they may be diverted away from criminal justice and into health care. There is scope for a variety of measures to be put into place to support defendants with learning disabilities to maximise their chances of participating effectively. However, in terms of statutory provision, there is a lack of parity between vulnerable witnesses and vulnerable defendants. Further, the absence of effective screening procedures to identify defendants' learning disabilities means that their support needs often go unrecognised and unmet.

The purpose of this paper is to review the evidence of alcohol use disorders within the different stages of the criminal justice system in the UK. Furthermore it reviewed the worldwide evidence of alcohol brief interventions in the various stages of the criminal justice system.

A rapid systematic review of publications was conducted from the year 2000 to 2014 regarding the prevalence of alcohol use disorders in the various stages of the criminal justice system. The second part of the work was a rapid review of effectiveness studies of interventions for alcohol brief interventions. Studies were included if they had a comparison group. Worldwide evidence was included that consisted of up to three hours of face-to-face brief intervention either in one session or numerous sessions.

This review found that 64-88 per cent of adults in the police custody setting; 95 per cent in the magistrate court setting; 53-69 per cent in the probation setting and 5,913-863 per cent in the prison system and 64 per cent of young people in the criminal justice system in the UK scored positive for an alcohol use disorder. There is very little evidence of effectiveness of brief interventions in the various stages of the criminal justice system mainly due to the lack of follow-up data.

Brief alcohol interventions have a large and robust evidence base for reducing alcohol use in risky drinkers, particularly in primary care settings. However, there is little evidence of effect upon drinking levels in criminal justice settings. Whilst the approach shows promise with some effects being shown on alcohol-related harm as well as with young people in the USA, more robust research is needed to ascertain effectiveness of alcohol brief interventions in this setting.

This paper provides evidence of alcohol use disorders in the different stages of the criminal justice system in the UK using a validated tool as well as reviewing the worldwide evidence for short ( < three hours) alcohol brief intervention in this setting.

No One Knows is concerned about people with learning disabilities and difficulties who get into trouble with the police and who enter the criminal justice system. The terms ‘learning difficulties’ and ‘learning difficulties’ are often used interchangeably to describe people with an intellectual disability, excluding those who, for example, have dyslexia or Asperger syndrome. No One Knows, however, has adopted a more inclusive approach and has included in its remit offenders with learning disabilities as defined by the World Health Organization as well as those with a broader range of learning difficulties. Although there is some discrepancy on prevalence, it is clear that high numbers of people with learning disabilities and difficulties are caught up in the criminal justice system. Once in the criminal justice system it is unlikely that an individual with learning disabilities or difficulties will be identified or that their support needs will be met. This causes difficulties for the individual concerned and for the staff who work with them, who receive little or no training for working with this group of people. The question of whether people with learning disabilities (meaning intellectual disabilities) should be diverted from the criminal justice system is considered.

The development of policy and delivery of interventions in the connected fields of alcohol and criminal justice is a complex area with implications for the single and joined‐up work of a range of agencies working across health, criminal justice and local government. This paper provides an overview of some of the connected health and criminal justice policy challenges relating to the commissioning and delivery of alcohol services for offenders.