Prison Research Articles

State's Presence in Fulfilling Human Rights for Illegal Immigrants of Rohingya in Aceh

The study delves into the phenomenon of Rohingya illegal boat migration to Indonesia's Aceh Province during the period of 2020–2023, amid allegations of human rights violations by the Myanmar government. It aims to elucidate the factors driving this migration while examining the Indonesian government's response in meeting the basic needs of Rohingya arrivals from a human rights perspective. Employing a qualitative research methodology with a descriptive analysis approach, this study utilizes a framework encompassing national policy, migration, and human rights principles. Findings reveal that most Rohingyas view Aceh as a temporary transit point en route to Malaysia, often resorting to various means, including escape from Indonesian detention facilities. Their undocumented status impedes legal entry into Malaysia, leaving many stranded in Aceh and other parts of Indonesia. International law mandates that the Indonesian government afford protection to these individuals. The study underscores the Indonesian government's adherence to international legal obligations in safeguarding the human rights and welfare of Rohingya immigrants, thereby highlighting implications for policy and humanitarian practice.

Legal Protection of the Right to Freedom and Personal Integrity of the Citizens of Ukraine (Private and Public Aspect)

The article defines the specifics of private legal protection of the right to freedom and personal inviolability of an individual in Ukraine. It elaborates on the content of the right to freedom and personal inviolability of a natural person, including both physical and psychological inviolability. The article identifies methods that violate the psychological inviolability of an individual (hypnosis, polygraph, etc.). Private legal protection of the right to freedom and personal inviolability, characterized as a personal non-property right of a natural person, has been analyzed in the context of legal regulations. The conclusion has been drawn that the right to freedom and personal inviolability is safeguarded through the establishment of a set of prohibitions regarding its infringement and methods of protection in case of violation. Both private legal and public legal means of protecting the right to freedom and personal inviolability of a natural person have been identified. The article characterizes violations of the right to freedom and personal inviolability of an individual in the context of their placement in places of liberty deprivation (orphanages, psychiatric hospitals, boarding schools, military guard-houses, detention facilities, etc.). Through the analysis of Ukrainian judicial practice and the European Court of Human Rights, the conclusion has been drawn that there are cases where there are no legal grounds for placing individuals in places of liberty deprivation, as well as instances of torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of these individuals.

К вопросу о криминологической безопасности подозреваемого и обвиняемого

The article discusses the issues of ensuring the safety of suspects and accused persons from criminal en-croachments. It is emphasized that, due to their procedural status, these persons have a high predisposition to criminal threats, and are not always able to independently counter them. It is stated that the most common ille-gal act against suspects and accused is coercion to testify. The use of violence against suspects and accused persons held in temporary detention facilities and remand prisons by the staff of those institutions is no less widespread. Violation of the rights and legitimate interests of suspects and accused persons is also allowed by officers of preliminary investigation and inquiry bodies when falsifying evidence and the results of operational and investigative activities. Conclusion dwells upon the fact that ensuring the criminological safety of suspects and accused should become one of the priorities of public authorities. Based on the study, some recommenda-tions are given aimed at increasing the degree of protection of suspects and accused from criminal threats.

Structural vulnerabilities and over-criminalization of LGBTQ + youth in the California justice system

PurposeLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ + ) youth are overly represented in the juvenile justice system, which stems from their structural vulnerability. LGBTQ + youths’ structural vulnerability, the societal criminalization of LGBTQ + individuals’ sexual and gender expression, and over-policing place these youth at greater risk of being charged with prostitution and related offenses. In turn, this study examines the relationship between youths’ gender identity, sexual orientation, structural vulnerability, and over-criminalization with the likelihood of being charged with prostitution or related charges, controlling for race/ethnicity and age. In doing so, the study offers insight to the mechanisms producing LGBTQ + youths’ structural vulnerability. MethodsThis study draws on the Criminalization of LGBQ/GNCT Youth data, which contains data on youth incarcerated in 46 of the 48 juvenile detention facilities in California in 2014 (N = 4,033). The data include information regarding youths’ sexuality, gender identity, race/ethnicity, child welfare system involvement, homelessness, and charges leading to detention. ResultsLGTBQ + youth had significantly higher odds of being incarcerated for prostitution and related charges than cisgender and straight youth. Experiencing family rejection and being detained more than once was significantly related to the odds of being incarcerated for prostitution and related charges. ConclusionLGBTQ + youth have significantly higher odds of being incarcerated for prostitution related offenses, which illuminates the nature of their structural vulnerability that place these youth at risk for justice involvement. Findings demonstrate a need for affirming LGBTQ + -specific services and improving the sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE) data gathered in juvenile justice facilities.

Maintaining Portland’s “progressive dystopia”: housing, carcerality, and the real estate state

ABSTRACT In 2020, a coalition formed between a local real estate developer, a nonprofit, and a senator soon to run for state governor, with the goal of turning a never-used county jail in Portland, Oregon, into a homeless shelter. Reading with abolitionist anthropologist Savannah Shange’s concepts of “progressive dystopia” and “carceral progressivism,” this paper is a case study of Wapato Jail’s redevelopment into the Bybee Lakes Hope Center, serving as an in-depth look at how Portland’s localized real estate state utilizes the logics of “carceral progressivism” to maintain the city as a dystopia that works for them [Shange, S. (2019). Progressive dystopia: Abolition, anti-blackness, & schooling in San Francisco. Duke University Press]. Utilizing data from archival materials, news media, and twenty interviews, I argue that the real estate state, composed of local developers with long-standing stakes in the city, form alliances in an attempt to shift the provision of services away from a Housing First approach and to maintain the city in a state of “just crisis enough” to keep growing profits and property values. Cutting across abolitionist and carceral geographies, I present an engagement with the maintenance and growth of carcerality within the real estate state, particularly as elites get involved with homeless services.

The Case for Closing the U.S. Prison at Guantanamo Bay

One of the secret CIA black sites that the U.S. government made use of was held at Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. It was used to torture suspected terrorists into providing intelligence following the terrorist attacks of September 11. Despite the end of the use of this black site, thirty detainees remain there today. Guantanamo detainees have often been captured from their homeland, then forcibly disappeared, and brought to the detention facility for indefinite detention and interrogation prior to having been charged with a crime. Despite their knowledge against its use, the U.S. government authorized the use of these “enhanced interrogation techniques” despite their being in violation of the Torture Statute and the DTA as well as several international frameworks. The goal of this article is to locate the contradictions between these legal frameworks and first-hand accounts to prove that human rights violations were committed at Guantanamo Bay detention facility and suggest that all the remaining prisoners should either be tried in a court of law for their alleged crimes or should be set free as soon as possible. This article will do so by comparing the violation of these rights to first-hand accounts from several Guantanamo memoirs.

Clarifying Relations Between Core Features of Psychopathy and Substance (Mis)use: A Replication and Extension in Two Large Independent Samples.

Two studies examined the consistency of associations between specific components of psychopathy and two indices of drug use: (a) abstinence and (b) severity (i.e., counts) of lifetime substance use disorder (SUD) symptoms. Participants were 418 male county jail inmates in Illinois (Study One) and 354 male state prison inmates in New Mexico (Study Two). Across samples, lifestyle and antisocial trait ratings were associated with a reduced likelihood of abstinence from most substances. Lifestyle traits were also uniquely associated with severity of substance dependence ratings. Consistent with prior research, interpersonal traits were uniquely related to cocaine indices in both samples. Furthermore, analyses revealed negative associations between the affective features of psychopathy and alcohol dependence in one sample (Study Two), and illicit substance use across samples. These findings demonstrate the robustness of the associations between the interpersonal and affective features of psychopathy and specific aspects of substance (mis)use.

Diabetes Management in Detention Facilities: A Statement of the American Diabetes Association.

This statement provides guidance for diabetes care in detention facilities. It focuses on areas where the processes for delivery of care to people with diabetes in detention facilities may differ from those in the community, and key points are made at the end of each section. Areas of emphasis, which inform multiple aspects discussed in this statement, include 1) timely identification or diagnosis of diabetes treatment needs and continuity of care (at reception/intake, during transfers, and upon discharge), 2) nutrition and physical activity, 3) timely access to diabetes management tools (insulin, blood glucose monitoring, tracking data, current diabetes management technologies, etc.), and 4) treatment of the whole person with diabetes (self-management education, mental health support, monitoring and addressing long-term complications, specialty care, etc.).

Abstract P480: Digesting Detention: Investigating Eating Patterns in Jails

Background: Over 12 million people cycle through jails every year in the US. People incarcerated experience significant health inequities compared to the general population, including higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Despite widespread acceptance of the association between diet and cardiovascular-related outcomes, research documenting dietary intake and nutritional status of individuals incarcerated in jail is limited. Food intake is notoriously difficult to measure, and current measurement tools are not designed for the jail setting. Objectives and Hypotheses: The objectives of this study were to 1) develop a food intake questionnaire for incarcerated adults; 2) document participants’ perceived accuracy of the instrument and 3) compare calorie, macronutrient, and micronutrient intake of people incarcerated in jail to the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR) and the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). We hypothesized that participants would consume more sodium, added sugar, and saturated fat while incarcerated compared to the DGA and macronutrient consumption patterns of people incarcerated in jail would not meet the AMDR. Methods: Cycle menus were obtained from the jail administration to design a questionnaire that would allow study participants to accurately document the consumption of foods provided by the jail and purchased through commissary each day. Sixty-five (65) incarcerated adults (24 women and 41 men) were recruited from a northern Arizona county jail to complete the 4-day cross-sectional food intake questionnaire. Participants were asked to fill out the questionnaires in real time. Following the study period, questionnaires were collected, and participants provided feedback on the appropriateness and feasibility of the questionnaire via a group listening session. Daily total and mean calorie, macro- and micronutrient intake were calculated using the ASA24 and compared to the AMDR and the DGA. Results: Of 65 people recruited, 64 completed the questionnaire. Participants reported enjoying reflecting on their diets but indicated that institutional menu modifications during the study period led to confusion as the food items listed did not always match what was served. Average percent saturated fat of total calories (11.7%, 95% CI: 10.9, 12.4) and sodium (3723 mg, 95% CI: 3048, 4399) exceeded DGA recommendations. Macronutrient consumption was within recommended ranges. Conclusions: The results of this study can inform efforts to improve the food intake tracking tool which can be used in future research assessing nutritional status in jails and prisons, as well as other controlled food environments. These results will also provide the first observational evidence of nutritional status in jail settings, informing future institutional policy change and interventions.

Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Response in Correctional and Detention Facilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected persons held in and working in correctional and detention facilities, causing facilities' traditional priorities to shift when healthcare and public health needs temporarily drove many aspects of operations. During July-August 2022, we interviewed members of health departments and criminal justice organizations to document lessons learned from the COVID-19 response in correctional settings. Participants valued enhanced partnerships, flexibility, and innovation, as well as real-time data and corrections-specific public health guidance. Challenges included cross-sector collaborations, population density, scarcity of equipment and supplies, and mental health. Most participants reported improved relationships between criminal justice and public health organizations during the pandemic. Lessons from COVID-19 can be applied to everyday public health preparedness and emergency response in correctional facilities by ensuring representation of correctional health in public health strategy and practice and providing timely, data-driven, and partner-informed guidance tailored to correctional environments when public health needs arise.

Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Response in Correctional and Detention Facilities

Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Response in Correctional and Detention Facilities

Developing and Implementing an IoT Managed by Electronic Devices for Covid Patient Monitoring via a Secured Communication System

End of 2019 had seen global spread of the deadly coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, which kills people, puts a large portion of the world in danger, and poses a serious threat to all of the world's nations. Leading medical professionals are working extremely hard to identify the virus, develop treatments for it, and create the vaccines that are required to stop and limit its spread. This study intends to develop a low-cost electronic health system to observe patients with covid infections and lessen the work required of clinicians. An enhanced approach for remote health monitoring in hospitals or detention facilities is offered by the internet of things (IoT). The IoT keeps and displays the patient's medical data via a web browser or through specialized apps that offer remote treatment once the sensors collect it. When a patient is in danger, the system offers immediate action to send alarms by email and SMS and to rapidly provide drugs to the patient. Doctors will be updated on each patient's condition thanks to this message.

Extreme Flood Flow Routing for Panchet and Maithan Reservoirs of India Using Modified Puls Technique

An important aspect of economic considerations is the routing and safety of hydraulic storage facilities such as dams for extreme probable water flooding. The routing of dam reservoirs requires more attention for determining the magnitude of extreme probable flooding. Apparently, the type of structure, importance, and economic development of the surrounding area guide the routing criteria for choosing the extreme flood magnitude. The Maithan and Panchet Dams in India have faced several major floods with diversified magnitudes since 1978. The present study aims to estimate the storage and routing of extreme probable floodings for these two dams based on real-time flood data like inflow, outflow, and elevation for the extreme flood years of 1978, 2009, and 2014. Reservoir storages at different elevations are calculated from the initial storage volumes. For both reservoirs, discharge equations are derived and calculated at given elevations during extreme floods. The Modified Puls technique is used for routing extreme floods. At the end of each extreme flood in 1978, 2009, and 2014, the variation in outflow discharges at different elevations and flood hydrographs is predicted. Finally, estimated outflow discharges are compared with the actual outflow discharges for the given inflows during extreme floods. Using this approach, extreme floods that occurred in 1978 are predicted with less than 10% error. Outcomes from this study may help in the future planning and routing of flood-control detention facilities and in predicting the variation in outflow discharges at different elevations. Based on this work, alternative studies and regional drainage planning can also be carried out.

The relationship between psychopathy facets and types of criminal offences

AbstractThe Psychopathy Checklist—Revised (PCL‐R) is a widely used measurement of psychopathy comprising interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial facets representing narrow‐band characteristics associated with the construct. However, there is little research on whether the distinct facets of psychopathy show specialised relationships with different types of criminal offences. The PCL‐R was administered to 138 adults incarcerated at a county jail. Arrests were coded into broad categories (i.e., crimes against persons, property or society), as well as for specific offence types (e.g. burglary, assault) using US crime definitions. Zero‐order correlations and zero‐inflated regression models showed significant relationships between: the lifestyle facet and property and societal crimes, mainly drug offences; the affective facet and crimes against persons; and the antisocial facet with all three major crime categories, as well as burglary, motor vehicle theft, robbery and assault. Overall, these results indicate that the PCL‐R facets offer unique information about specific forms of criminal behaviour.

Acceptability and Perceived Utility of Virtual Reality Among People Who Are Incarcerated Who Use Drugs.

People who are incarcerated are at heightened risk of overdose upon community reentry. Virtual reality (VR) may provide an innovative tool for overdose prevention intervention in corrections facilities. This mixed methods study sought to understand incarcerated individuals' perspectives on VR for overdose prevention and explore physiological arousal associated with use of VR equipment. Study participants were 20 individuals, stratified by gender, with an opioid use disorder at a county jail. Qualitative interviews assessed acceptability and perceived utility of VR in the jail setting. Thematic analysis indicated high levels of acceptability and potential utility in the following areas: (a) mental health and substance use interventions, (b) community reentry skills training, and (c) communication and conflict resolution skills. Heart rate variability (HRV) data were collected continuously during the interview and during VR exposure to explore whether exposure to the VR environment provoked arousal. Physiological data analyses showed a significant decrease in heart rate (HR) [b = -3.14, t(18) = -3.85, p < .01] and no arousal as measured by root mean square of successive RR interval differences (RMSSD) [b = -0.06, t(18) = -1.06, p = .30] and high frequency-HRV (HF-HRV) [b = -0.21, t(18) = -1.71, p = .10]. This study demonstrated high acceptability and decreased HR response of VR among incarcerated people who use drugs.

Hepatitis A Exposure Response and Outbreak Prevention in a Large Urban Jail - Los Angeles County, California, May-July 2023.

Correctional settings provide a high-risk environment for hepatitis A transmission because of the high proportion of homelessness and injection drug use among persons who are incarcerated. On May 30, 2023, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health informed the Communicable Disease Surveillance and Control (CDSC) unit of the Los Angeles County Jail system that a symptomatic incarcerated person had received a positive test result for acute hepatitis A. Upon learning the next day that the patient was a food handler, CDSC staff members identified 5,830 potential contacts of the index patient, 1,702 of whom had been released from the jail. During June 1-12, a total of 2,766 contacts who did not have a documented history of hepatitis A serology or vaccination that could be confirmed from the electronic health record or state immunization registry were identified. These persons were offered hepatitis A vaccination as postexposure prophylaxis; 1,510 (54.6%) accepted vaccination. Contacts who were food handlers without confirmed evidence of immunity and who declined vaccination were removed from food-handling duties for the duration of their potential incubation period. No additional cases were identified. Identifying contacts promptly and using immunization and serology records to ensure rapid delivery of postexposure prophylactic vaccine can help prevent hepatitis A transmission during exposures among incarcerated populations.

АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ СПЕЦИАЛЬНО-КРИМИНОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ МЕР ПРЕДУПРЕЖДЕНИЯ НАСИЛЬСТВЕННЫХ ПРЕСТУПЛЕНИЙ, СОВЕРШАЕМЫХ В СЛЕДСТВЕННЫХ ИЗОЛЯТОРАХ

This work is devoted to the study of the prevention of the commission of violent crimes in places of detention, by special criminological measures. Specific measures aimed at preventing these negative phenomena in the conditions under consideration are proposed and justified. The study was conducted by the author in the period from 2003 to 2022 in Moscow, the republic of Kalmykia, Moscow, Murmansk, Ryazan, Smolensk regions. The purpose of the study is to develop specific measures aimed at preventing the commis-sion of violent crimes in a pre-trial detention facility.

Hyperincarceration and human rights abuses of First Nations children in juvenile detention in Queensland and the Northern Territory

ABSTRACT Hyperincarceration of First Nations peoples (both children in juvenile detention and adults in prisons) is a feature common to British settler colonial states. This article focuses on hyperincarceration of one population sub-group in one settler colonial state: children in Australian juvenile detention facilities. The treatment of First Nations children in Australian juvenile detention violates a number of Treaty obligations to which Australia has voluntarily committed. The article will focus on the treatment in two Australian jurisdictions – the Northern Territory and Queensland – where there have been high-profile instances of mistreatment that have garnered international and national attention and criticism. The treatment in these jurisdictions demonstrates the inconsistency between the international human rights law requirements and current legislation and policy. It argues that mistreatment that violates human rights law is directly contributed to by the hyperincarceration of First Nations children in juvenile detention, which is on a worsening trajectory.

Genesis and retrospective analysis of the classification of persons sentenced to imprisonment in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Relevance. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to improve approaches to the classification of convicts and further humanisation of the conditions in detention facilities considering the historical experience of the implementation of penal enforcement legislation of different historical periods of Kazakhstan. Purpose. The purpose of the study is a scientific analysis of the processes of development of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of classification of persons sentenced to imprisonment, which would allow prioritising the mechanism of distribution of convicts, and conclude that it is necessary to abandon formal classification in favour of a flexible approach in the implementation of an individual risk assessment of any particular convict. Methodology. The basis of the methodological approach in this study is a qualitative combination of general scientific and special methods of cognition of empirical and theoretical levels of research. Results. The results are the conclusions obtained in the process of analysing the legislation of different historical periods of Kazakhstan on the need to involve scientists, practicing psychologists, lawyers, and mediators in the classification of persons sentenced to imprisonment, which would contribute to the compilation of a complete, comprehensive description of the convict. The results of this study are of significant importance for researchers whose sphere of scientific interests is related to the issues of primary and secondary classification of persons sentenced to imprisonment, with the investigation of the legal status of convicts. Conclusions. The conclusions may be useful for subjects whose powers provide for the classification of convicts in practice, for employees of correctional facilities, lawyers, and prosecutors. The practical significance of this study is conditioned by the analysis of the historical development of the classification of convicts, which can ensure

Health Belief Model to Assess Mpox Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Residents and Staff, Cook County Jail, Illinois, USA, July-August 2022.

In summer 2022, a case of mpox was confirmed in a resident at the Cook County Jail (CCJ) in Chicago, Illinois, USA. We conducted in-depth interviews with CCJ residents and staff to assess mpox knowledge, attitudes, and practices; hygiene and cleaning practices; and risk behaviors. We characterized findings by using health belief model constructs. CCJ residents and staff perceived increased mpox susceptibility but were unsure about infection severity; they were motivated to protect themselves but reported limited mpox knowledge as a barrier and desired clear communication to inform preventive actions. Residents expressed low self-efficacy to protect themselves because of contextual factors, including perceived limited access to cleaning, disinfecting, and hygiene items. Our findings suggest correctional facilities can support disease prevention by providing actionable and tailored messages; educating residents and staff about risk and vaccination options; and ensuring access to and training for hygiene, cleaning, and disinfecting supplies.