Large County Jail Research Articles

The interdependence of caring, safety, and health in correctional settings: Analysis of a survey of security staff in a large county jail system

The health of incarcerated populations is intertwined with the health of security staff, but the social mechanisms, and especially the specific interventions, that might mitigate these health harms are underexplored. We examine one possible mechanism of interrelated health harms: whether and how jail security staff are willing and able to care for mentally ill detainees. We hypothesize that the attitudes of security staff towards care affect the well-being of everyone in a jail setting—staff, as well as detainees. Analyzing 539 anonymous respondent surveys administered to a stratified cluster sample of security staff working in a large U.S. county jail system, we (1) describe the prevalence of a perceived duty to care and availability of caring resources among security staff and (2) analyze whether variations in a duty to care and caring resources predict outcomes associated with staff and detainee well-being. Across five maximum likelihood models estimated, both perceived duty to care and availability of caring resources are significantly associated with collaborative relationships with medical staff, increased perceptions of personal safety, decreased frequency of hostile encounters, and better self-reported health outcomes. Our models explain 20 percent of the variation in self-reported health outcomes (R2 = .20), a meaningful effect of care on security personnel's well-being. Our findings suggest security staff have an often-overlooked duty to care akin to that experienced by healthcare staff. Among healthcare staff, dual loyalty trainings have successfully amplified caring duties relative to security duties; similar trainings for security staff might better leverage their caring duties to improve both staff and detainee well-being.

Comparison of the point prevalences of psychiatric comorbidities in younger versus older incarcerated adult patients at a large county jail

Comparison of the point prevalences of psychiatric comorbidities in younger versus older incarcerated adult patients at a large county jail

Does Bail Reform Decarcerate Mental Illness? Public Health Challenges for a Large County Jail System.

Although bail reform reduces jail census, whether or not its effects extend to incarcerated individuals with mental illness is unknown. Using a novel high-sensitivity measure of serious mental illness (SMI) from jail-based electronic health records, we conducted an interrupted time series analysis assessing the impact of Illinois bail reform on total jail registrations and the nested subset with SMI ± co-occurring substance use disorder (SUD). Compared with a decline in total jail registrations, admission of individuals with SMI ± SUD showed no decline. Consequently, the proportion of admissions involving SMI increased between 2015 and 2019 from 26% to 35%. Intentional efforts involving cooperation by the health, social services, and justice sectors are needed to translate the impact of bail reform onto the population experiencing SMI.

A Quantitative Look at Incarcerated Parents and their Parenting Responsibilities in an Urban County Jail

An emerging body of research has shown that parental incarceration can negatively impact the emotional, social, and developmental health of children. However, most of the research has been conducted within prison populations. To better understand the scope and potential impact of parental incarceration in a large urban county jail, we surveyed 1,404 inmates in a county jail on their children, parenting responsibilities, and history of incarceration. Nearly half of respondents stated they were parents of at least one child under the age of 18. Over 90% of the incarcerated parents had been to jail or prison previously, 61% reported being the primary financial support for their child(ren), and 62% lived with their children prior to incarceration. Incarcerated mothers were more likely to be have lived with their children and been the primary financial support for their children prior to incarceration compared to incarcerated fathers. Public health officials should recognize the downstream effects of parental incarceration in local jails and ensure appropriate resources, programs, and policies are in place to meet the needs of impacted children.

Hepatitis C Epidemiology in a Large Urban Jail: A Changing Demographic.

Nearly 1 in 3 people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection pass through the criminal justice system annually; the system is a crucial location for HCV screening, education, and linkage to care. We aimed to (1) determine the prevalence and incidence of HCV antibody positivity and (2) evaluate the demographic characteristics of people with HCV in a large urban jail. We offered universal opt-out HCV testing to any person undergoing a routine blood test at the Dallas County Jail from June 2015 through December 2019 (N = 14 490). We extracted data on demographic characteristics from the electronic medical record and collected data on risk factors from people with HCV antibody positivity. We performed univariate and multivariate analyses. The prevalence of HCV antibody positivity was 16.7%; the incidence was 13.5 cases per 1000 person-years. HCV antibody positivity was significantly associated with older age (P < .001), female sex (P = .004), non-Hispanic White race versus non-Hispanic Black race (P < .001), and being released to prison versus not (P < .001). Among people born after 1965, those who were HCV antibody-positive were more frequently non-Hispanic White and Hispanic women, whereas among those born in 1965 or before, those who were HCV antibody-positive were more frequently non-Hispanic Black men. The high prevalence and incidence of HCV antibody positivity in a large county jail argue for routine, universal HCV testing and prevention counseling in criminal justice settings. Changing demographic characteristics mirror those of the national injection drug use epidemic and shed insight into designing interventions for risk reduction, education, linkage to care, and treatment.

Effect of Substance Use Disorder on Detection and Treatment of COVID-19 in a Large County Jail

Introduction Carceral facilities are epicenters of COVID-19 transmission, and the interplay of substance use disorder has created an additional challenge in detection. Our study describes outcomes related to the overlap of COVID-19 and substance use in a large county jail. Methods This is a retrospective study of adults who tested positive for COVID-19 while incarcerated at a county jail in 2020. Basic descriptive statistics were performed as well as two-tailed t-tests and chi-square analysis to determine the significance of differences between groups. Results 289 people were included in the study. The average age was 33 and 82% were male. Most cases were asymptomatic (42%) or mild (40%). People with active substance use disorder reported significantly higher rates of muscle aches and fatigue. 46% were released prior to completing the 10-day isolation period. Conclusions Most COVID-19 cases in the jail were mild. Symptoms did not significantly differ in those with concomitant substance use disorder. Most participants were released prior to completing isolation, increasing the risk for community spread

Paired Testing of Sexually Transmitted Infections With Urine Pregnancy Tests in Incarcerated Women.

In correctional facilities, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are common, are often asymptomatic, and may lead to adverse outcomes such as infertility and increased HIV acquisition. In January 2020, testing for Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) was paired with routine urine pregnancy tests among women entering a large county jail to increase testing and detection of STIs. The results of all GC/CT urine tests in the Dallas County Jail were collected from October 2019 to February 2020. Medical records were reviewed to collect demographic factors and to determine the positivity of GC/CT infections, time to results, and time to treatment. With paired testing, monthly testing rates increased 4.7-fold among incarcerated females from 125 to 589 tests without substantial change for males (174 to 163). The number of infections detected in females increased from 25 (7%) of 359 to 62 (5.3%) of 1171 for GC and 42 (11.2%) of 374 to 129 (11%) of 1177 for CT without a significant difference in GC (P = 0.23) or CT positivity (P = 0.66). Younger women (≤25 years) had the highest rates of CT (18.8% [66/350]), whereas GC was highest among women aged 31 to 35 years (9.9% [32/321]). Average time to results and treatment were 5.8 and 1.8 days, respectively. Pairing GC/CT testing with routine urine pregnancy tests resulted in a large (4.7-fold) increase in the number of STI tests and a comparable increase (3.7- to 4.6-fold) in the number of infections detected. Future efforts should focus on incorporating STI testing into routine jail practices and expediting treatment to further improve outcomes in this vulnerable population.

Confined to Obscurity: Health Challenges of Pregnant Women in Jail.

Research about pregnant women in jail is scant. This exploratory study begins to fill this gap by examining the demographics; background characteristics; and self-reported physical health, mental health, and substance use challenges reported by 27 pregnant women incarcerated in a large midwestern county jail. It further reports on the prenatal care before and during their incarceration, plans of these pregnant women for delivery of their child, caring for their infant after their release from jail, and their expectations of paternal or family support post-release. Among the sample, 66.7 percent reported a physical health care problem, 48.2 percent had received mental health treatment, and 18.5 percent had substance use treatment in the previous year, but only 51.9 percent had seen a health care professional before their incarceration. All women expected the father of their child to provide financial support, but only 76.9 percent expected the father to be involved with the child. The authors also discuss implications of the findings for jail health care services and reintegration policy and practice for pregnant women.

Treatment Refusal in Arizona's Jail-Based Competency to Stand Trial Restoration Programs.

In 2003, Arizona began a jail-based restoration to competency program for detainees in its largest jail system in Phoenix. Today, jail-based competency programs have become the rule statewide to the degree that very few incompetent detainees are now referred to the Arizona State Hospital for restoration services. This article focuses on the topic of treatment refusal and the use of forced medications for detainees who are in these jail-based restoration programs. We describe Arizona's novel statewide jail-based programs, Arizona's statutory and case law approach to treatment refusal, and the restoration to competency programs in one large county jail that has no legal mechanism outside of civil commitment for the determination of whether forced treatment will be permitted. We conclude with a discussion of specific override procedures that might apply directly to incompetent detainees in a jail-based competency restoration program and whether the use of these procedures is prudent in a jail environment.

The Diet of Inmates: An Analysis of a 28-Day Cycle Menu Used in a Large County Jail in the State of Georgia.

Given the many well-documented relationships between diet and health, growing medical care expenses for those incarcerated, and limited information on foods served in correctional facilities, this study examined the nutritional adequacy of a 28-day cycle menu used in a large county jail in Georgia. When compared with Dietary Reference Intakes, provisions of energy (female inmates only), sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol exceeded recommendations. Magnesium, potassium, and vitamins A, D, and E met less than two thirds of recommendations. Compared with MyPlate recommendations, grains were overrepresented, while vegetables, fruits, and dairy were underrepresented in the menu. Small menu changes could improve the menu's nutrient content and potentially increase inmates' health and well-being.

Applications of optimal building energy system selection and operation

Berkeley Lab has been developing the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model for several years. Given load curves for energy services requirements in a building microgrid (µ·grid), fuel costs and other economic inputs, and a menu of available technologies, the model finds the optimum equipment fleet and operating schedule. This capability is being applied using a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. The evolution of this approach is demonstrated by description of four past and present projects: (1) a public access web site focused on solar photovoltaic generation and battery viability for large non-residential customers; (2) a building CO2 emissions reduction operations problem for a university dining hall with potential investments considered; (3) a battery and rolling operating schedule problem for a large county jail; and (4) the direct control of the solar-assisted heating ventilation and air conditioning system of a university building by providing optimised daily schedules that are automatically implemented in the building’s energy management and control system. Together these examples show that optimisation of building μ·grid design and operation can be effectively achieved using SaaS.

Exploring Potential Consequences of Job Involvement Among Jail Staff

Jail staff who harbor negative attitudes toward their jobs can be detrimental for the functional operation of the organization. Presumably, personnel who are more involved with their work should have lower levels of stress and higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, compared with those who are not involved. The current study examined the effects of job involvement on job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment at a large county jail system in Florida. Based on multivariate analyses of staff survey data, the results revealed that job involvement was negatively related to job stress and positively related to both job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The implications of these findings for correctional research and practice are also considered.

The Impact of Discontinuation of Male STD Screening Services at a Large Urban County Jail: Chicago, 2002–2004

Before April 2003, all male detainees were offered chlamydia (CT) and gonorrhea (GC) screening tests, after which services were limited to symptom-based testing. In 2003, male screening was discontinued at a large urban county jail. To evaluate the impact of discontinuing universal male sexually transmitted disease screening in a large county jail. We compared the number of male CT/GC cases during the periods of universal screening (April 2002 to March 2003) with symptom-based testing (April 2003 to March 2004). The number of reported CT/GC cases among male detainees declined by -91.7% (3329-277) and -90.5% (1133-108), respectively after universal screening was discontinued. Citywide, CT/GC cases among males and females declined by -9.3% (24,885-22,563) and -12.9% (13,249-11,541), respectively. Discontinuation of universal male CT/GC screening services at a large county jail represents a missed opportunity to screen a high-risk population and was associated with substantial declines in reported morbidity.

Penal harm and unusual conditions of confinement: Inmate perceptions of ‘hard time’ in jail

Despite the increasingly punitive public policies of the past three decades and the concomitant ‘get tough’ rhetoric aimed at reducing prison and jail amenities, little is known about inmates’ perceptions of punishment. Prison and jail administrators often justify their efforts to increase the “pains of imprisonment” for incarcerated offenders on the basis of retribution and deterrence, but these policies appear to be more symbolic than substantive in nature. Using interview data from 232 inmates about to be released from a large county jail renown for its ‘get tough ’ policies, this study examined inmate perceptions of their unusual conditions of confinement. Findings suggest that many of these policies were benign or even counterproductive to the extent that they promoted a defiant response from offenders.

The impact of medical issues on the job stress and job satisfaction of jail staff

The work environment of corrections has received a great deal of attention, with several empirical studies focusing on the causes and consequences of employee job stress and job satisfaction. Researchers have recently begun to explore the impact of medical concerns in correctional settings, though most of this research has focused on prisons or inmates’ perception of the problem. As American jail populations continue to grow as part of what has been referred to as ‘mass imprisonment’, it seems likely that already deficient medical services will suffer, impacting not only inmates, but jail personnel as well. Unfortunately, the nature of these problems (and effects) is relatively unknown. The current study seeks to fill a research void by examining the degree to which jail staff perceive medical issues as problematic in their work setting, as well as the role that such concerns play as a cause of both job stress and satisfaction. Using survey data collected from a large county jail system in Florida, the findings suggest that medical issues are a concern among jail personnel, though only a few of these issues explain job stress and satisfaction.

Where Love Flies Free

SUMMARY Several definitions of “home,” drawn from dozens provided by the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language underscore how a large urban county jail becomes many forms of home for the women detainees there. Drawing on the women's poetry and the mechanics of creative writing workshops facilitated by the author for the last seven years at Cook County Jail, this essay describes some of the realities of the criminal (injustice system and how the women's writing becomes a way of writing against the grain of official discourse, thus altering certain definitions of this “home.”

THE EFFECTS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESSORS ON JAIL STAFF JOB SATISFACTION

ABSTRACT Jails, with their unique and ever-changing mix of inmates, play a critical role in the criminal justice system. Nevertheless, despite their uniqueness, jail staff are chronically understudied relative to police and prison staff. This study seeks to fill a gap in the literature related to jail studies by surveying staff at a large county jail system in Florida in order to determine the effects of work stressors and demographic characteristics on job satisfaction. Role ambiguity was the most significant antecedent of job satisfaction, followed by dangerousness, incentive programs, age, pay perceptions, and race. Similar results were found when a subsection of custody officers was analyzed; however, satisfaction with mandatory overtime requirements became significant, while incentive programs, age, and dangerousness failed to reach statistical significance.

Pregnancy outcomes of inmates in a large county jail setting.

The purpose of this study was to examine low birthweight (LBW) and fetal death rates for women incarcerated in a large county jail during their pregnancy. Additionally, medical and support services available to these inmates were reviewed. Jail records showed this population to be both medically and socially high risk. Analysis indicated that their LBW rate was statistically higher (p < 0.05) than that of the county or state, but comparable to a matched group residing in high-risk areas of the city in which many of these women resided. During the course of the study, numerous jail policies were identified which had the potential to negatively impact the health of these women and their pregnancy outcomes.

Pregnancy Outcomes of Inmates in a Large County Jail System: Issues Affecting Quality of Care

This retrospective study evaluates low birthweight rates (LBW: birthweights below 5 Ib 8 oz or 2,500 grams) for women incarcerated in a large county jail during their pregnancy. Jail records showed...

Social integration and mental well-being among jail inmates.

Although social integration has consistently been linked to mental well-being among the general population, this relationship has not been explored for persons confined in total institutions. Jails, in particular, represent unique conditions that have the potential to alter the traditional relationship between social ties and mental health. Although previously unexamined, social ties maintained by jail inmates outside and inside of the institution are commonly presumed to weaken some of the adverse effects of a stressful environment and positively influence mental health. The current study explores the impact of social integration on mental well-being among 198 male and female inmates incarcerated in a large county jail. The impact of marital status, parental status, and social support (both inside and outside of the jail) on various dimensions of mental health was examined. The results indicate that rather than promoting mental well-being, social relationships inside and outside of the institution are associated with higher levels of distress. Specifically, married inmates report higher levels of depression and anxiety, and inmates with close social relationships inside of the jail report higher levels of hostility, although gender differences in these patterns are evident. The results of this study suggest that social integration may play a different role for persons incarcerated in total institutions than among the general population due to the unique conditions of social stigmatization and separation from support networks.