Bureau Of Justice Statistics Research Articles

Health, Access to Care, and Financial Barriers to Care Among People Incarcerated in US Prisons

Decades-old data indicate that people imprisoned in the US have poor access to health care despite their constitutional right to care. Most prisons impose co-payments for at least some medical visits. No recent national studies have assessed access to care or whether co-pays are associated with worse access. To determine the proportion of people who are incarcerated with health problems or pregnancy who used health services, changes in the prevalence of those conditions since 2004, and the association between their state's standard prison co-payment and care receipt in 2016. This cross-sectional analysis was conducted in October 2023 and used data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates, a nationally representative sample of adults in state or federal prisons, with some comparisons to the 2004 version of that survey. The state's standard, per-visit co-payment amount in 2016 compared with weekly earnings at the prison's minimum wage. Self-reported prevalence of 13 chronic physical conditions, 6 mental health conditions, and current severe psychological distress assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale; proportion of respondents with such problems who did not receive any clinician visit or treatment; and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) comparing the likelihood of no clinician visit according to co-payment level. Of 1 421 700 (unweighted: n = 24 848; mean [SD] age, 35.3 [0.3] years; 93.2% male individuals) prison residents in 2016, 61.7% (up from 55.9% in 2004) reported 1 or more chronic physical conditions; among them, 13.8% had received no medical visit since incarceration. A total of 40.1% of respondents reported ever having a mental health condition (up from 24.5% in 2004), of whom 33.0% had received no mental health treatment. A total of 13.3% of respondents met criteria for severe psychological distress, of whom 41.7% had not received mental health treatment in prison. Of state prison residents, 90.4% were in facilities requiring co-payments, including 63.3% in facilities with co-payments exceeding 1 week's prison wage. Co-payments, particularly when high, were associated with not receiving a needed health care visit (co-pay ≤1 week's wage: aOR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.10-1.86; co-pay >1 week's wage: aOR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.61-2.93). This cross-sectional study found that many people who are incarcerated with health problems received no care, particularly in facilities charging co-payments for medical visits.

Collective bargaining, police pay, and racial differences in police lethality rates

ABSTRACT This study examines the interaction effects of police collective bargaining authorization and police pay on racial differences in police-related fatalities. Using data from Fatal Encounters, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and other publicly available databases, we applied entropy-weighted regressions to a balanced panel of 282 local police departments from 2000 to 2013 in the United States. We found that collective bargaining authorization is not directly associated with police-caused deaths. However, results indicate that higher median salaries for city police officers directly and meaningfully contribute to fewer people killed by police actions. When considering interactive effects, our findings suggest that police unionization offsets the life-saving benefits of higher relative pay, leading to more Black citizens dying from police intervention as salaries increase in agencies with collective bargaining authorization. Our findings demonstrate authorities should consider the potentially fatal and inequitable consequences for citizens during collective bargaining and salary-setting negotiations.

Promatics of Sexual Violence Based On The Direction of Government Policy In Handling It

Cases of sexual violence are increasing from year to year, not only in Indonesia but also in several other countries, data from the National Commission for Women shows that cases of sexual violence continue to increase every year, as well as data from the Department of Justice , Office of Justice Program, Bureau of Justice Statistics, The National Crime Victims Survey shows a 68-second increase in Americans experiencing sexual assault. This shows that regulations regarding sexual violence are still weak. In Indonesia, even the Philippines, the Netherlands and the United States have regulated acts of sexual violence, but in substance it is still very lacking so that it has not been able to overcome the acts of sexual violence that have occurred so far. This study intends to analyze how the government should act in reducing the number of victims of sexual violence in Indonesia. Even though to date the government has issued laws and regulations related to sexual violence in 2022 which are issued through law, their implementation has not been optimal. Therefore, there is still a great need to improve government policy measures. Such as revising regulations relating to forms of sexual violence. Apart from that, the government must also be able to make derivative regulations for the Sexual Crimes Law so that they can be used legally.

Abstract MP06: Cardiovascular Disease in Community-Dwelling US Adults Involved With the Criminal Justice System: A Simulation Analysis

Introduction: Approximately 4.4 million US adults live in the community while on probation or parole. They have disproportionately elevated cardiovascular risk factors, morbidity and mortality, along with limited access to healthcare. However, the long-term burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in this population is uncertain. We developed a simulation model to quantify cardiovascular risk and adverse events in community-dwelling US adults involved with the criminal justice system, leveraging all known sources of data on this under-studied, high-risk population. Methods: We adapted the CVD Policy Model, a validated state-transition simulation model of CVD in all US adults, using input data specific to 25-54 year-old individuals on probation or parole in 2018. Population size was defined using estimates from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. CVD risk factor burden was approximated by re-weighting data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey years 2005 to 2018 to match demographic, socioeconomic, and health variables among individuals reporting past-year probation or parole in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. CVD incidence and mortality rates were calibrated to outcomes in cohort studies and vital statistics data. Outcomes were myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and death over a 10-year horizon (2018-2027) and were compared with projections for an age- and gender-matched cohort of adults in the general US population. We also examined projected reductions in CVD outcomes over 10 years that could be expected if risk factor distributions in the probation/parole population were similar to distributions observed for the general US population. Results: The simulated cohort consisted of 2.9 million adults 25-54 years of age on probation or parole in 2018; 71% were men, 30% were living below the poverty line, and 57% had no regular access to healthcare. An estimated 61% were current smokers, 29% had BP ≥130/80 mmHg, and 8% had diabetes. The study cohort was projected to experience between 36,400 and 69,600 incident MIs and between 22,400 and 37,500 incident strokes over 10 years. This would be 1.4-2.6 times the CVD incidence in age- and gender-matched adults in the general US population. Lowering rates of active smoking in those on probation or parole to rates observed for the general US population (i.e., from 61% to 21%) would reduce MI and stroke events by 16,400 to 29,100 over 10 years, a 27% reduction from current projections. Discussion: We developed and calibrated a computer simulation model to quantify the burden of CVD in community-dwelling US adults followed by the US justice system. We project that adults on probation or parole have higher CVD risk than the general US population. Future work will leverage this platform to estimate the impact of clinical, community, and policy interventions to reduce CVD burden in this vulnerable population.

Abstract P234: Prison Inmate Awareness of Heart Disease Status While Incarcerated in State and Federal Prisons, 2016

Background: Heart disease (HD) is the leading cause of death of inmates incarcerated in state prisons in the US, as it is in the general population. However, in 2001-2019 the mortality rate of HD in incarcerated populations was reported to increase, while it decreased in the US population. . This is despite constitutionally mandated access to healthcare. There are few studies assessing healthcare utilization in prison populations. The 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates is exceptional in that it explores utilization across both state and federal prisons, and allows us to explore factors that may contribute to decreased understanding of health status. Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, a cross sectional survey of the state and federal prison population across the United States. Data collection took place from January to October 2016. All participants were above 18 years of age, incarcerated across 1808 state and 193 federal institutions. All analysis was restricted to those with a reported history HD, which included heart attack, coronary heart disease, angina, congestive heart failure, or other heart problems. Awareness of their current heart disease status was operationalized by combining self-reported history and current heart disease status. Results: When asked, 27.9% of survey respondents reported a history of heart disease but denied currently having heart disease. Yet 89.3% of these unaware patients had seen a healthcare provider since incarceration. . Independent of age, those with difficulty walking/climbing stairs or doing activities alone, and older in age (all p<0.01) were more likely to be aware of HD status. Factors including veteran status (OR=0.7; CI: 0.5-0.9), homeless 30 days prior to incarceration (37.8% vs 27.7%; p=0.036) and those experiencing homelessness before 18 years of age (40.4% vs 25.8%; p<0.001) were associated with being unaware of heart disease status. Individuals with ADD/ADHD (prevalence=23.7%) had weaker (non-significant) association between awareness of their heart disease and healthcare utilizing behavior (Mantel-Haenszel test for heterogeneity; p=0.006). Meanwhile, those without ADD/ADHD had nearly 4 times the odds of correctly reporting their heart disease status if they had seen a provider (OR=3.90; CI: 2.32-6.59), compared to those who hadn’t seen one. Those with a history of ADD/ADHD were more likely to report experiencing homelessness prior to age 18 (p<<0.001), 30 days prior to arrest (p=0.002) and 12 months prior to arrest (p<0.001). Conclusions: Awareness was associated with utilizing healthcare since incarceration, but only 72.4% were clear that HD is a chronic condition. The associations between awareness and disability and other life experiences show an influence from socioeconomic status which could inform much-needed health promotion programming.

Suicide mortality among individuals in federal prisons compared with the general population: a retrospective cohort study in the USA from 2009 to 2020

IntroductionSuicide is one of the leading causes of death in US prisons. Yet, administrative data lags years behind and reporting rarely accounts for differing age distributions between suicide rates between...

Rates of crime decrease on campus — except for sexual assault

Overall, crimes on college campuses were generally less prevalent in 2020 than a decade earlier — but forcible sex offenses increased. That finding comes from the Report on Indicators of School Crimes and Safety: 2022, released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, and Department of Education.

Disability Justice and the Americans with Disabilities Act: An Opportunity for Social Work.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 61 million Americans have a disability, which translates to about 26 percent of the national population. The most common types of disability are physical (13.7 percent), or those that impact mobility, and intellectual (10.8 percent), or those related to cognitive processing. The Bureau of Justice Statistics has reported that 32 percent of people in state prisons and 40 percent of people in county jails have at least one disability, rates that demonstrate alarming disproportionality. Yet the history of the disability rights movement, the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act for people with disabilities who are involved with the criminal justice system, and the implications of disability justice and critical disability theory for the field of social work are not well understood. The purpose of this article is to review these under-recognized topics and offer recommendations for addressing this neglected area of social work education, research, policy, and practice.

Pregnant Prisoners in Shackles

Pregnant Prisoners in Shackles

Jail Conditions And Mortality: Death Rates Associated With Turnover, Jail Size, And Population Characteristics.

In 2019, there were approximately ten million admissions to more than 3,000 US jails-facilities that had become increasingly deadly in the prior decades. Between 2000 and 2019, jail mortality rose by approximately 11percent. Although incarceration is widely viewed as a health hazard, relationships between jail conditions and jail deaths are understudied. Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and Reuters journalists, we assessed mortality rates and conditions in approximately 450 US jails in the period 2008-19. During those years, certain facility characteristics were related to mortality. For example, high turnover rates and high populations were associated with higher death rates. Greater proportions of non-Hispanic Black people in jail populations were associated with more deaths due to illness, and the presence of larger shares of non-US citizens was associated with lower overall mortality rates. Our findings suggest that heavy reliance on incarceration and the prevalence of broad health disparities escalate jail mortality.

Comparison of Demographic Characteristics and Social Determinants of Health Between Adults With Diagnosed HIV and All Adults in the U.S.

Quantifying disparities in social determinants of health between people with HIV and the total population could help address health inequities, and ensure health and well-being among people with HIV in the U.S., but estimates are lacking. Several representative data sources were used to assess differences in social determinants of health between adults with diagnosed HIV (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Medical Monitoring Project) and the total adult population (U.S. Census Bureau's decennial census, American Community Survey, Household Pulse Survey, the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements; the Department of Housing and Urban Development's point-in-time estimates of homelessness; and the Bureau of Justice Statistics). The differences were quantified using standardized prevalence differences and standardized prevalence ratios, adjusting for differences in age, race/ethnicity, and birth sex between people with HIV and the total U.S. population. Overall, 35.6% of people with HIV were living in a household with an income at or below the federal poverty level, and 8.1% recently experienced homelessness. Additionally, 42.9% had Medicaid and 27.6% had Medicare; 39.7% were living with a disability. Over half (52.3%) lived in large central metropolitan counties and 20.6% spoke English less than very well based on survey responses. After adjustment, poverty (standardized prevalence difference=25.1%, standardized prevalence ratio=3.5), homelessness (standardized prevalence difference=8.5%, standardized prevalence ratio=43.5), coverage through Medicaid (standardized prevalence difference=29.5%, standardized prevalence ratio=3.0) or Medicare (standardized prevalence difference=7.8%), and disability (standardized prevalence difference=30.3%, standardized prevalence ratio=3.0) were higher among people with HIV than the total U.S. population. The percentage of people with HIV living in large central metropolitan counties (standardized prevalence difference=13.4%) or who were recently incarcerated (standardized prevalence ratio=5.9) was higher than the total U.S. population. These findings provide a baseline for assessing national-level disparities in social determinants of health between people with HIV and the total U.S. population, and it can be used as a model to assess local disparities. Addressing social determinants of health is essential for achieving health equity, requiring a multipronged approach with interventions at the provider, facility, and policy levels.

California's Public Safety Realignment Act and prisoner mortality.

In 2011, a historic Supreme Court decision mandated that the state of California substantially reduce its prison population to alleviate overcrowding, which was deemed so severe as to preclude the provision of adequate healthcare. To comply, California passed the Public Safety Realignment Act (Assembly Bill [AB] 109), representing the largest ever court-ordered reduction of a prison population in U.S. history. AB109 was successful in reducing the state prison population; however, although the policy was precipitated by inadequate healthcare in state prisons, no studies have examined its effects on prisoner health. As other states grapple with overcrowded prisons and look to California's experience with this landmark policy, understanding how it may have impacted prisoner health is critical. We sought to evaluate the effects of AB109 on prison mortality and assess the extent to which policy-induced changes in the age distribution of prisoners may have contributed to these effects. To do so, we used prison mortality data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the California Deaths in Custody reporting program and prison population data from the National Corrections Reporting Program to examine changes in overall prison mortality, the age distribution of prisoners, and age-adjusted prison mortality in California relative to other states before and after the implementation of AB109. Following AB109, California prisons experienced an increase in overall mortality relative to other states that attenuated within three years. Over the same period, California experienced a greater upward shift in the age distribution of its prisoners relative to other states, suggesting that the state's increase in overall mortality may have been driven by this change in age distribution. Indeed, when accounting for this differential change in age distribution, mortality among California prisoners exhibited a greater reduction relative to other states in the third year after implementation. As other states seek to reduce their prison populations to address overcrowding, assessments of California's experience with AB109 should consider this potential improvement in age-adjusted mortality.

How often does homelessness precede criminal arrest in veterans? Results from the U.S. survey of prison inmates.

Research has shown links between homelessness and criminal legal involvement in military veterans. The present study aimed to determine the magnitude and directionality of this association by investigating the incidence of, and factors associated with, homelessness preceding criminal arrest among veterans. Data on incarcerated veterans (N = 1,602) were analyzed from the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. In this survey, 27% of incarcerated veterans reported homelessness 12 months before criminal arrest. In multivariable logistic regression analyses, higher odds of experiencing homelessness preceding criminal arrest were associated with younger age, non-White race, substance use disorder (with or without serious mental illness [SMI]), history of previous arrests, parental history of incarceration, and history of homelessness before age 18. These factors were found to be the same for nonveterans, as were rates of homelessness before arrest. However, incarcerated veterans were more likely to have mental disorders, including SMI, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and personality disorders. In contrast, incarcerated nonveterans were more likely to have a criminal history, including past arrests, parental incarceration, and juvenile detention. Although policymakers may be aware that some veterans they serve are at risk of criminal legal involvement, these national data reveal the magnitude and directionality of this problem: more than one in four incarcerated veterans experienced homelessness before criminal arrest. Identifying characteristics of veterans who experienced homelessness before criminal arrest directly informs service providers of demographic, historical, and clinical factors to evaluate and address to prevent criminal legal involvement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Facial recognition systems in policing and racial disparities in arrests

This study examines the association between police facial recognition technology (FRT) deployment and racial differences in arrests across 1136 U.S. cities in 2016. We estimated doubly robust propensity score models using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Report, and the U.S. Census Bureau. Results show that agency FRT use contributes to greater racial disparity in arrests. This relationship was underpinned by statistically meaningful and positive FRT effects on Black arrest rates and negative effects on White rates. We also observed more sizeable and significant impacts for adult arrests, indicating that FRT's association with adult rates primarily drives the overall disparity finding. Results suggest a need for civic leaders to scrutinize the relative contributions of structural factors, agency policies, and government directives to officer decision-making before widely deploying FRT in jurisdictions. For agencies currently using this technology, it would imply the need for policies and supervision that guide, and in some cases restrict, officer discretion in FRT-assisted contexts.

Do Commonly Recommended Preventive Actions Deter Identity Theft Victimization? Findings from NCVS Identity Theft Surveys

ABSTRACT It remains unknown if taking commonly used preventive actions is related to identity theft. In the current study, we use a dataset featuring over 220,000 respondents to the National Crime Victimization Survey Identity Theft Supplement (NCVS ITS). The survey was conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) first in 2012, then again in 2014, and once more in 2016. The findings reported here suggest that demographic variables (e.g., gender, income) and types of online activities (e.g., frequency of online shopping) are significantly related to identity theft victimization. An interesting additional finding is that among seven distinct types of preventive actions listed in the NCVS ITS survey (frequently checking credit reports, frequently changing passwords for financial accounts, employing purchase credit monitoring, shredding documents containing personal information, monitoring bank statements for suspect charges, using security software programs, and purchasing identity theft protection), shredding documents with personal information ALONE is significantly negatively related to identity theft victimization. All six other preventive actions are either positively related or unrelated to identity theft victimization. These findings generate practical implications and, most importantly, raise the question of whether some newly-fashioned preventive actions might provide better protection from identity theft protection.

The Identity Thief: How Politics, Religion, and Values Stole Support for Sexual Assault Reporting and the #MeToo Movement

In 2017, the hashtag #MeToo emerged as a sign of protest and solidarity challenging the status quo of sexual assault underreporting. Over the next year, reported cases of sexual assault increased by 86.5% (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014-2018). As it began, #MeToo experienced broad support from across American society. Inflection points have tested this support, as for example, in Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony before congress (Wright et al., 2021). In an increasingly polarized era, we examine the role that self-reported political identity, participation with a religious community, and value-identities of Conformity, Security, and Tradition play in shaping attitudes about sexual assault reporting and the #MeToo movement. Our findings suggest that religiosity and political identity is complexly correlated with the increasingly politicized #MeToo movement. We also find that support for sexaul assault reporting and the #MeToo moment gets filtered through value-identities of Conformity, Security, and Tradition with the aggregate effect stifling support. We conclude that identities shaped by conservative politics, androcentric religious traditions, and values oriented toward Conformity, Security, and Tradition serve as foundational social psychological factors needing additional attention, as emerging research investigates the potential for movements increasingly defined by identity divisions, for example, rising Christian Nationalism and related protests.

Community policing and the organizational structure of campus law enforcement agencies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which community policing within campus law enforcement agencies is influenced by the organizational structure, agency characteristics and campus characteristics.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes ordinary least squares regression modeling to examine community policing implementation. Data were drawn from a sample of 242 US colleges and universities included in the 2011–2012 Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Survey of Campus Law Enforcement Agencies (SCLEA).FindingsFindings show that within-campus law enforcement agencies, greater levels of community policing are associated with more formalization, larger numbers of employees, a higher task scope and higher rates of on-campus property crime.Research limitations/implicationsUse of secondary data and reported crime rate limits the study. Future research should implement specialized surveys and qualitative methods to identify the specific needs and implementations of community policing.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the limited body of literature on the community policing in campus law enforcement through more recent data and the inclusion of campus community variables.

Centering Black Girls in Sexual Harassment Research: A Community-Based Participatory Action Research Approach

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Bureau of Justice statistics, 1 in 4 Black girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18. The founder of the #Metoo movement, Ms. Tarana Burke, originally designed the hashtag to help bring awareness to Black women and girls from underprivileged communities that experienced rape or sexual assault. However, the phrase was co-opted by White women sharing their experience of being sexually violated or harassed on social media which resulted in Black girls’ experiences being left in the shadows, silencing their experiences. Here we describe the advocacy work of a community coalition dedicated to eradicating inequities Black girls’ experience in systems, including schools, the criminal justice system, and social services. We document our work regarding Black girls' experiences of sexual harassment in schools. We developed a community-based participatory action research project to center Black girls' perspectives about sexual harassment. We administered anonymous surveys to 45 Black girls in grades 7–12. Our findings demonstrate that girls experience a range of sexual harassment behaviors in person and online and report numerous adverse emotional, physical, and educational impacts.

A Legal Right to Clozapine Therapy for Incarcerated Individuals With Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia.

People with serious mental illnesses increasingly are being treated in jails and prisons, and during incarceration are afforded a constitutional right to medical care. This right pertains to both general medical and mental illnesses and both acute and chronic conditions. However, incarcerated patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) often are not offered clozapine, the only medication for this debilitating illness approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In this column, the authors argue that incarcerated individuals with TRS have a statutory and constitutional right to treatment with clozapine.

Critical Race Theory, Wrongful Convictions and Disparate Exonerations of Minority and White Youths in the United States

Race is central to every aspect of the criminal justice system in the United States. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in 2013, black males accounted for 37 percent of the total male prison population in the United States with white males accounting for only 32 percent followed by Hispanic males at 22 percent respectively. In the general population, however, Black males comprise only 6 percent of the total males population while White males constitute 31 percent of the total males population in the U.S. followed by Hispanic males who make up 8.4 percent of the total male population. The conviction of innocent defendants is quite disturbing regardless of race or ethnicity. Nothing is more glaring of this phenomenon than when one considers that African American males make up only 6 percent of the total males population but are reported as committing 52 percent of the murders. It is widely known that the lack of formal processes and constitutional due process in the juvenile justice system and the potential for substantial deprivations of children’s liberty through extensive periods of incarceration has been pervasive, persistent, and ongoing in this country (Juvenile Justice Center, 2020). Critical Race Theory has done nothing less than shed more light on the predictability of youth treatment landing them behind bars for lengthy prison sentences for crimes in which they frequently did not commit. Critical Race Theory falls short, however, of offering any plausible explanations for why so many minority youths are falsely imprisoned. Other theories must be considered as plausible explanations for this phenomenon of disparate treatment between the races whether it be police shooting, disparate convictions and incarceration or racial profiling. These theories include Racial Conflict Theory, Racial Threat Theory and Petit Apartheid Theory. The core idea of Critical Race Theory is that racism does not stop at the individua level, but it is systemic or system-wide and ingrained in our policies, in our legal systems and institutions. Critical Race Theory has absolutely nothing to do with “punishing kids for their skin color or making young white kids feel guilty for being white no more than critical thinking is criticizing someone for well thinking. Critical Race Theory is a dialogue for raising awareness of policies and practices that have had a disproportionately negative impact on racial minorities in particular and youth in general irrespective of race. There were 2,310 people serving life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed as juveniles (known as JLWOP) at the end of 2016. This study examines the data extracted from the national registry of exonerations in the United States on every known exoneration from 1989 to 2020. Contributing factors to such disparate convictions among young African American males such as false confessions, mistaken identity, false accusations, witness tampering, perjury or false statements under oath particularly by police officers, prosecutorial misconduct, inadequate legal defense, and mistaken witness identification are highlighted and discussed as major contributing factors to the exoneree’s eventual release. This study assumes the position that, although all lives matter, it appears that African American Male Youths are more disproportionate among the population of those exonerated for crimes that they did not commit. The study proffers policy implications and policy changes that appear to be viable solutions to this egregious and tragic abuse of humankind.