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Recent longitudinal evidence reveals how sustaining a traumatic brain injury (TBI) increases risk for criminal justice involvement, including incarceration for serious or chronic offending (i.e., violent crime). In 2016, researchers from Correctional Service Canada (CSC) found between 01 July 1997 and 31 March 2011, the incidence of incarceration was higher among federally sentenced incarcerated people with prior TBI; in their sample, both men and women with TBI were approximately 2.5 times more likely to be incarcerated than men and women without TBI. More research is needed to understand how TBI may be related to neurodiversity and shape pathways to criminal justice system involvement, particularly among men who do not identify as White; for example, in 2020/2021, Indigenous men made up 32% of male admissions to federal custody in Canada. Engaging 11 reports produced by CSC which examine rates of TBI and other related factors among incarcerated people, as well as select international literature on TBI and the criminal justice system, our rapid report seeks to explicate the potential relationship between TBI, neurodiversity, and men as evidenced among federally incarcerated men in Canada. Policy, training, education, future areas of inquiry and practical implications for correctional services are discussed.

COVID-19 and the subsequent public health responses disrupted the routines and lives of people globally. The impact was felt by correctional workers who navigated rapidly changing public health policies and many disruptions to operations within both institutional and community correctional services. In the current study, we unpack qualitative findings emerging from an online mental health and well-being survey, during COVID-19, of 571 correctional workers employed in the Canadian province of Alberta. Results emphasize how correctional work was strained by the on-set of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating other risks and vulnerabilities for both staff and incarcerated people. Respondents highlighted impacts to their workload, routine, personal and institutional security, relationships with colleagues and incarcerated people, and their competing perspectives on the enforcement and ethics of ensuing public health measures intended to contain the spread of the virus. We discuss the empirical implications of these findings and areas for future research post pandemic.

Library and information science (LIS), as a whole, has not prioritized the information access of people inside of jails and prisons as a central tenet of library practice At the moment, there is growing attention given to states’ attempts to curtail book access for people inside of jails and prisons. Groups that provide free books to incarcerated people -- such as the numerous Books to Prisoners programs across the United States -- have been central to the discussions around access to information and resistance to censorship. These groups have drawn particular attention to the ways that Black, Indigenous, and people of color, as well as LGBTQ people, in prison experience ongoing oppression during incarceration because of limited access to materials relevant to their experiences. By identifying the types of information that are banned or limited, the difficulties people who are incarcerated face in seeking to access information, and the impact that access to information has in the lives of people who are incarcerated, this article explains prison censorship as a form of state-sponsored oppression, which is largely being combated by Books to Prisoners rather than LIS. The article ends by explaining LIS’ lack of attention to information access for people who are incarcerated.

Background: This study explored the extent of COVID-19 vaccination coverage and investigated drivers and barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake among people in prison. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July to October 2021 among 517 detained people in the Campania region of South Italy. Results: In total, 47.1% of participants expressed a high concern about contracting COVID-19 after vaccination, whereas 60.6% and 53.8% of respondents reported a positive attitude towards usefulness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines, respectively. Adherence to the active offer of COVID-19 vaccination involved 89.7% of detained subjects. COVID-19 vaccination uptake was significantly higher in females, and in those who reported influenza vaccination uptake, had received information about COVID-19 vaccination from media and newspapers, did not express need of additional information about COVID-19 vaccine, believed that COVID-19 vaccine is safe, were involved in working activities in the prison, and had a high school or university degree. Conclusions: These findings showed a high self-reported COVID-19 vaccination coverage in detained subjects, supporting the effectiveness of the strategy aimed at giving priority to COVID-19 vaccinations in prisons. Further efforts are needed to contrast the hesitancy of those who refused vaccination to increase their confidence about usefulness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines.