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Suicide is the leading cause of death in America's jails and the rate of suicide is nearly three times higher in jails than in prisons or the general public. Fatal suicides represent a small proportion of individuals who threaten or attempt suicide while incarcerated, or otherwise engage in serious self-harm. Yet, there is little research to date on the risk factors for jail detainees engaging in suicidal and/or self-harm behavior while incarcerated. Using logistic regression, we examine the risks factors for attempting and threatening suicide and/or self-harm during incarceration using a mixed-sex sample of 736 individuals incarcerated in a large metropolitan jail in the Midwest using the lens of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (ITS). We found support for ITS, as individuals with higher perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness were more likely to attempt and/or threaten suicide and self-harm. Among the measures that proxied the belongingness-burdensomeness construct – mental health issues, drug dependence, direct and indirect victimization in jail, and psychological distress – were all associated with higher odds of threatening or attempting suicide and self-harm. We discuss the need for future research on suicidality and serious self-harm in jail, as well as recommendations for managing those most at-risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Death by suicide is the leading cause of death in American jails. Closely linked with suicides are self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. Even with this knowledge, the risk factors for self-harm ideation and self-harm behaviors have received little empirical work within a jail population. This study couples an integrated importation and deprivation model with an ideation-to-action approach to examine environmental and psychological correlates of self-harm ideation and self-harm behaviors among a sample of 231 individuals incarcerated in jail. Results from the ordinary least squares regression models demonstrate that both deprivation (institutional misconduct) and importation (hopelessness) factors are important when identifying self-harm ideation and self-harm behaviors. In addition, the results of this test of the integrated model offer a proposed new direction for integrated theory testing. Finally, a discussion of policy implications and actionable programs are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Jails annually incarcerate millions of people with health problems, yet jail healthcare services have not been well described. Objective: To describe jail healthcare staffing. Design: Phone-administered survey conducted October 2020 to May 2021. Setting: County jails in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Participants: Jail personnel "most knowledgeable" about jail healthcare. Main Measures: Weekly on-site healthcare coverage rate (hours per 100 incarcerated person-weeks [IPWs]) by personnel type; telemedicine rates and detention officers' healthcare duties. Key Results: Survey response rate was 73% (254/346). Among surveyed jails, 71% had on-site non-psychiatric providers (e.g., physicians, physician assistants) (median of 3.3 h per 100 IPWs); 90% had on-site nursing (median of 57.0 h per 100 IPWs) including 50% with on-site registered nurses (median of 25 h per 100 IPWs) and 70% with on-site licensed practical nurses (median of 52 h per 100 IPWs); 9% had on-site psychiatric providers (median of 1.6 h per 100 PWs). Telemedicine was used for primary care in 13% of jails (median 2.1 h per 100 IPW); for mental healthcare in 55% (median 2.1 h per 100 IPW); and for other specialties in 5% (median 1.0 h per 100 IPW). In 81% of jails, officers conducted medical intake and in 58% assessed urgency of medical requests (i.e., "sick call"). The number of officers' healthcare responsibilities increased inversely with weekly nursing coverage. Conclusions: Nearly 30% of surveyed jails routinely lacked on-site healthcare providers and in most other jails providers' on-site presence was modest. Jails relied heavily on LPNs and officers for care, resulting in missed opportunities for care and potentially endangering incarcerated persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brief Jail Mental Health Screen (BJMHS) is one of the most popular screening tools used at the time of jail admission to identify adults with current mental health needs. Prior work has documented the accuracy of the screen primarily in large urban or semi-urban correctional facilities according to diagnostic criteria established in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The current study was designed to evaluate the precision of the BJMHS in a smaller rural jail setting according to the current DSM-5 criteria in a sample of 210 adults. Responses from the BJMHS were collected and merged with diagnostic indications gathered from the Comprehensive Addictions and Psychological Evaluation. Mental health conditions were highly prevalent with 80% of participants presenting symptoms. The BJMHS accurately identified less than half (40%) of those with a mental health condition. The high false-negative rate of the BJMHS left many adults in need of services without the necessary diagnostic evaluation. Recommendations are provided to help increase the accuracy needed to correctly identify these needs in rural jail populations, which represent those incarcerated in most local detention centers in the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the causal impact of jail mental health needs scores, assigned by clinicians, on youth and adult outcomes. Utilizing an instrumental variable (IV) approach leveraging quasi-random assignment of intake clinicians, we find that worse scores increase incarceration duration and suicide attempts in both groups and recidivism in adults. For the marginal person, worse scores may lead to consequences like prolonged jail stays, which counteract potential benefits. We discuss possible mechanisms, including the existence of a mental health docket for misdemeanors, and effects of scores on bond posting, mental health care, type of housing within the jail, and length of stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we use quantitative and qualitative methods to examine how death investigations in Los Angeles County jails disproportionately naturalize death among Black and Latino incarcerated people. Our study is based on an assessment of 58 autopsies, coroner investigator narratives, and toxicology reports produced between 2009 and 2018. We found that the Medical Examiner frequently arrived at natural or undetermined death determinations that minimized the culpability of carceral staff for loss of life that occurred within county jail. In our dataset, Black people were disproportionately classified as natural. Undetermined deaths were almost exclusively Latino. More than 75% of the cases in our study were deaths that occurred before standing trial. Our findings reveal how biomedical knowledge about incarcerated Black and Latino people is used to erase the life‐diminishing effects of punishment, neglect, and maltreatment that are central to the project of mass incarceration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Implementation of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in jails varies by facility and across states. Organizational climate, including staff attitudes toward change and exposure to education, can influence perceptions of innovations like MOUD in jails. Using a mixed methods design, we aimed to understand the association between organizational climate and jail staff perceptions of MOUD. Methods: Jail staff (n = 111) who operate MOUD programs in 6 Massachusetts jails completed surveys that included the Organizational Readiness for Implementing Change (ORIC) survey. Random effects logistic regression models assessed associations between organizational climate and several outcomes of perceived MOUD efficacy, acceptability, and knowledge, while controlling for covariates. Jail staff (N = 61) participated in qualitative interviews and focus groups focused on organizational climate and knowledge diffusion, which we analyzed using inductive and deductive methods. Results: The results indicate that organizational change readiness on the ORIC was associated with positive perceptions of MOUD, and educational resources facilitated MOUD implementation. Greater ORIC was associated with higher perception of methadone as highly acceptable for jail populations (Odds ratio [OR] 2.3, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.2 to 4.4), and high knowledge of methadone (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1 to 4.9), with similar magnitude of effects for buprenorphine. High levels of training for jail staff on methadone and buprenorphine were also associated with higher knowledge of these medications (Methadone: OR 7.2, 95% CI 2.2 to 23.2; Buprenorphine: OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.2 to 9.5). Qualitative results point towards the importance of organizational climate and elucidate educational strategies to improve staff perceptions of MOUD. Conclusion: Results underscore the importance of organizational climate for successful implementation of jail MOUD programs and provide support for medication-specific educational resources as a facilitator of successful MOUD implementation in jail settings. Findings highlight implementation strategies that may improve jail staff perceptions of MOUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study builds on prior work examining the association between futurelessness and commitment institutional rules among correctional populations. Using cross-sectional data from a sample of 413 people incarcerated in United States jails from 2018 to 2019, this study employs Ordinary Least Squares regression to examine the association between futurelessness and commitment to institutional rules controlling for various importation and deprivation factors previously linked with institutional misconduct. Results provide support for the importance of futurelessness for commitment to institutional rules, suggesting that this finding is consistent across correctional environments. In addition, findings suggest that an index measure of futurelessness is a stronger construct for testing futurelessness than single-item measures used in prior studies. Consistent with prior literature on futurelessness, our findings suggest that among people incarcerated in jail futurelessness is linked to a weaker commitment to institutional rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, correctional facilities are potential hotspots for transmission. We examined the genomic epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) early in the pandemic in one of the country's largest urban jails. Methods Existing SARS-CoV-2 isolates from 131 detainees at the Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois, from March 2020 through May 2020 were analyzed by whole-genome sequencing. Contemporaneous isolates from Rush University Medical Center (Chicago, Illinois) and the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) were used to identify genetic clusters containing only jail isolates. Transmission windows were identified for each pair of detainees using the date of the SARS-CoV-2–positive test and location data to determine if detainees overlapped in the jail, within a specific building, or within particular living units during transmission windows. Results We identified 29 jail-only clusters that contained 75 of the 132 SARS-CoV-2 isolates from detainees; of these clusters, 17 (58.6%) had individuals who overlapped in the jail during putative transmission windows. Focusing on specific buildings revealed that 2 buildings, a single- and double-cell style of housing. were associated with having detainees infected with similar SARS-CoV-2 genomes during their infectious time period (P <.001). Conclusions Our findings suggest that there was transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the jail, in the setting of extensive importation of COVID-19 from the community. Numerous infection control practices at intake and during incarceration were implemented in the jail to limit viral spread. Our study shows the importance of genomic analysis in this type of settings and how it can be utilized within infection control protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the possible deleterious lifelong impacts for youth who serve stints of incarceration in adult jails or prisons. Our study uses a sample of all youth ages 16 and 17 arrested in New York State in 1987 and follows their criminal careers for 24 years. New York was selected as the state processed, not just some, but all youth of this age as adults, allowing us to overcome issues of selection bias and to use natural variation to create a propensity score matched sample to compare similar youth who either were, or who were not, subject to this punishment. Findings reveal that youth who spent time in an adult jail or prison recidivate more often, more quickly, and commit more total offenses. We also find that being offered youthful offender status, a status that removes the public stigma of a criminal record, reduces recidivism, regardless of the incarceration experience. Our study is situated in theories of deterrence, social learning, and labeling, and we apply our findings to greater societal implications of subjecting youth to punishments traditionally reserved for mature adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jails and prisons commonly offer mental health treatments as many people experiencing incarceration suffer from significant psychological distress and substance use problems. One modality through which individuals who are incarcerated receive care is psychotherapy; however, process and outcome data in this population are limited. More specifically, little is known about how culture and identity impact the development therapeutic relationship in this context. The multicultural orientation framework, which includes three pillars (cultural humility, cultural opportunities, and cultural comfort), aims to operationalize cultural processes in psychotherapy (J. Owen, 2013). We examined the relationship between therapy outcomes and client ratings of their therapist's cultural humility (positive and negative), cultural opportunities, and the working alliance in two jails. Ninety-four clients engaging in routine psychotherapy rated their experience of the therapy process during their third session. Interestingly, we did not find significant associations between therapy outcomes (i.e., psychological distress and relational distress) and negative cultural humility or cultural opportunities. We did find a significant positive association between the working alliance and therapy outcomes. Notably, therapy outcomes were negatively associated with positive cultural humility, suggesting that clients who rated their therapist higher on positive cultural humility had worse therapy outcomes. Therefore, there may be important setting specific factors that contribute to the importance of orienting to culture in psychotherapy. Public Significance Statement: The present study examined therapy with individuals experiencing incarceration and found that therapist expressions of positive cultural humility were associated with worse therapy outcomes. This is significant because the extant literature suggests that expressions of positive cultural humility, a pillar of the multicultural orientation framework, are generally supportive and improve therapy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jail population sizes are determined largely by decision-making in the courtroom. The current study recognizes the police officer's influence in the courtroom and explores the impact of police officer decision-making on subsequent jail outcomes. Using administrative data on misdemeanor convictions processed in a mid-sized urban prosecutor's office in Florida, I examine the relationship between discretionary citations in lieu of arrest, pretrial detention stays, and jail sentences. Results show that citations are not used frequently, but they are associated with lower rates of both detention and jail sentences. These findings are evidence of a custodial inertia, where defendants who begin their cases in jail are progressively more likely to be there during and after case processing. This points to a potential role for citations in lieu of arrest as a tool to help reduce jail overcrowding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on pandemics in institutional settings often assumes that all human interactions within a jail pose similar viral transmission risks. We developed an agent-based model (ABM) called Simulation Applications for Forecasting Effective Responses in Corrections (SAFER-C™) to simulate nine scenarios of possible interactions and virus transmission among incarcerated individuals and jail staff and tested this assumption. We found that resumption of high-contact activities has a greater impact on the number of infections, while out-of-cell group sizes and initial vaccination rates had lower impact. This work emphasizes the importance of understanding and modeling human interactions in confinement facilities, as well as understanding, responding to, and limiting the mechanism of viral transmission in jails. Insights from ABMs provide correctional administrators with realistic options for managing responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Palestinian cause was brought one more time to the agenda of global politics after the Gaza 2023 genocide. At the heart of the ongoing genocide was the question of Palestinian prisoners. One of the motives of the October 7, 2023, Hamas' al-Aqsa Flood Operation was to release Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails by taking Israeli hostages. Palestinian prisoners have played an important role in the Palestinian national movement. This commentary highlights the stories of some of these prisoners and their role in the ongoing genocide in Gaza in addition to analyzing how they are an integral part of the Palestinian national movement. This commentary sheds light on the significant impact Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have on current events by featuring a selection of the author's works, including "The Prisoners' Diaries: Palestinian Voices from the Israeli Gulag," "Dreaming of Freedom: Palestinian Child Prisoners Speak," and "A Shared Struggle: Stories of Palestinian and Irish Hunger Strikers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their significance in criminal legal processing, American jails have a reputation for physical and operational deficiencies, with few aspirations beyond mere custody. To examine the possibilities for United States (U.S.) jails' progress, we assess the priorities of U.S. jail leaders, their expectations about achieving reforms, and perceived obstacles regarding change. Our analysis showed that while jail command staff embrace custody, they also endorse social service functions of jails, favor facilities that are safe and clean, support a professional workforce, accept other progressive features of jails, and reject punishment and brutality. They recognize impediments to progress, but are optimistic about potential improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall aim of the present study is to examine the utility of the DSM OUD Checklist and the NM-ASSIST screening tools to identify symptoms consistent with OUD among incarcerated women in county jails. This study contributes to the existing literature because research on screening and assessment approaches for incarcerated women has been limited. The focus of the current study is to describe the screening procedures and study recruitment for a larger parent study focused on increasing treatment linkages. Study findings indicate a positive correlation between indicators of OUD using the two screening tools, as well as a high degree of correlation between street opioid misuse and other high-risk drug indicators (overdose and injection practices). These findings underscore the importance of outreach, screening, and intervention in real-world settings, including jails, in order to increase access to OUD treatment among this vulnerable sample of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the impact of privatization on service quality in a novel context: jail health care. More than 1,000 people die annually while incarcerated in US jails. In recent years, privatization health care for jail inmates has increased, and many journalists have described abuses by private health care providers in jails. Despite longstanding theoretical interest in the (de)merits of privatization, scholars have been silent on jail health care privatization. Difference-in-differences analyses of mortality trends in a panel of more than 500 jails in the United States from 2008–2019 produce little evidence that switching from publicly to privately provided jail health care increases inmate mortality death in the short-run or long-run. Furthermore, in one state with available data, jail medical spending per inmate day increased following medical care privatization, contrary to theoretical predictions. Further research is needed to uncover the determinants of jail mortality and consequences of correctional health care privatization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the discovery of a key to William Morgan's jail cell in Canandaigua, New York. The key was found in a small wooden box with a glass lid, labeled "MORGAN'S KEY." The box was discovered in St. Patrick's Lodge No. 4 in Johnstown, New York. The key is believed to have locked the door of the debtor's cell where Morgan was held before his release on September 13, 1826. The significance of this key and its connection to Freemasonry and Morgan's disappearance raises many questions and mysteries that require further research. [Extracted from the article]

It is argued that certain words for jail in Diné bizaad (Navajo)„ e.g. 'awáalya and wáalya, come from Spanish. Although it has been long suspected that this word is a loanword, all the suggestions so far presented in the literature remain unconvincing on phonological grounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In custodial settings such as jails and prisons, infectious disease transmission is heightened by factors such as overcrowding and limited healthcare access. Specific features of social contact networks within these settings have not been sufficiently characterized, especially in the context of a large-scale respiratory infectious disease outbreak. The study aims to quantify contact network dynamics within the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia. Methods: Jail roster data were utilized to construct social contact networks. Rosters included resident details, cell locations, and demographic information. This analysis involved 6702 male residents over 140,901 person days. Network statistics, including degree, mixing, and dissolution (movement within and out of the jail) rates, were assessed. We compared outcomes for two distinct periods (January 2022 and April 2022) to understand potential responses in network structures during and after the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant peak. Results: We found high cross-sectional network degree at both cell and block levels. While mean degree increased with age, older residents exhibited lower degree during the Omicron peak. Block-level networks demonstrated higher mean degrees than cell-level networks. Cumulative degree distributions increased from January to April, indicating heightened contacts after the outbreak. Assortative age mixing was strong, especially for younger residents. Dynamic network statistics illustrated increased degrees over time, emphasizing the potential for disease spread. Conclusions: Despite some reduction in network characteristics during the Omicron peak, the contact networks within the Fulton County Jail presented ideal conditions for infectious disease transmission. Age-specific mixing patterns suggested unintentional age segregation, potentially limiting disease spread to older residents. This study underscores the necessity for ongoing monitoring of contact networks in carceral settings and provides valuable insights for epidemic modeling and intervention strategies, including quarantine, depopulation, and vaccination, laying a foundation for understanding disease dynamics in such environments.Top of Form

Introduction: There are scant data on implementation of large-scale direct-acting antiviral treatment for hepatitis C virus in jails in the U.S. New York City Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services aimed to scale up hepatitis C virus treatment in the New York City jail system. This study describes the trends in annual hepatitis C virus treatment in New York City jails compared with those in Medicaid-funded treatment in the New York City community from 2014 to 2020. Methods: In this observational study, we extracted annual counts of direct-acting antiviral prescriptions for hepatitis C virus for those (1) in the New York City community who were covered by Medicaid and (2) those detained in New York City jails for 2014–2020. Data sources were New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene annual reports and Correctional Health Services treatment records, respectively. We used linear regression analysis to test for significant trends in annual treatment in these 2 cohorts during 2015–2019. Results: From 2015 to 2019, treatments started in New York City jails increased annually (p=0.001), whereas Medicaid-funded prescriptions in the New York City community declined since a peak in 2015 (p

MSM and TW personnel, who underwent criminal justice involvement (CJI) in the USA, have a particularly high HIV burden. The post-incarceration period following community reentry is critical for addressing potential risks of HIV/STI acquisition and negative sequelae of substance use. To address this scenario, we designed a new intervention that includes a GPS based mobile app (called GeoPass), peer support and incentives for promoting the use of HIV prevention, substance use treatment, and related services.

BackgroundFrequent emergency department (ED) use and incarceration can be driven by underlying structural factors and social needs. If frequent ED users are at increased risk for incarceration, ED-based interventions could be developed to mitigate this risk. The objective of this study was to determine whether frequent ED use is associated with incarceration.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of 46,752 individuals in San Francisco Department of Public Health's interagency, integrated Coordinated Care Management System (CCMS) during fiscal year 2018-2019. The primary exposure was frequency of ED visits, and the primary outcome was presence of any county jail incarceration during the study period. We performed descriptive and multivariable analysis to determine the association between the frequency of ED use and jail encounters.ResultsThe percentage of those with at least one episode of incarceration during the study period increased with increasing ED visit frequency. Unadjusted odds of incarceration increased with ED use frequency: odds ratio (OR) = 2.14 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.94-2.35) for infrequent use, OR = 4.98 (95% CI = 4.43-5.60) for those with frequent ED use, and OR = 12.33 (95% CI = 9.59-15.86) for those with super-frequent ED use. After adjustment for observable confounders, the odds of incarceration for those with super-frequent ED use remained elevated at 2.57 (95% CI = 1.94-3.41). Of those with super-frequent ED use and at least one jail encounter, 18% were seen in an ED within 30 days after release from jail and 25% were seen in an ED within 30 days prior to arrest.ConclusionsFrequent ED use is independently associated with incarceration. The ED may be a site for intervention to prevent incarceration among frequent ED users by addressing unmet social needs.

A personal narrative is presented in which the author explores the struggles of being arrested and jailed for a psychotic episode, highlighting the need for better training, medical care, and crisis intervention techniques for mentally ill individuals.

Medications for opioid use disorder, also known as medication-assisted treatment (MAT), are critical in the treatment of opioid use disorder. Historically, inmates with opioid use disorder in U.S. jails and prisons have had difficulty accessing these medications, particularly methadone and buprenorphine. A series of recent legal cases, however, have set an evolving precedent for prisoners' rights to medications for opioid use disorder during incarceration based on the Eighth Amendment and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition to reviewing these cases, this article evaluates the recent clinical and research landscape in which these cases arose and highlights the need for further study into the role of medications in reducing in-prison morbidity and mortality from opioid use disorder.

Incarceration can disrupt healthy sleep, and insomnia is associated with psychiatric symptoms and poor general medical health among incarcerated people. In recent years, considerable litigation has arisen over sleep deprivation in U.S. jails and prisons. This column examines litigation over conditions of incarceration, such as noise, inadequate bedding, constant illumination, medication restrictions, and early wake-up times, that may affect sleep duration and quality. The potential adverse effects of inadequate sleep on incarcerated individuals, as well as associated litigation, suggest the need for policies that reduce unnecessary sleep deprivation and promote healthy sleep in correctional facilities.

Prior research has considered the lack of mental healthcare services offered to the inmates in Pennsylvania, Allegheny County Jail. However, there is limited research on how telepsychiatry impacts the mental health services provided in this jail, leading to the question: What are local mental healthcare workers’ opinions on the effectiveness and viability of telepsychiatry in Allegheny County jail? The researcher used a convergent parallel, mixed method Google Forms survey to obtain this data. This study found that while most providers preferred in-person care over telepsychiatry, they conceded that this system can be beneficial for the inmates at this local jail. Providers’ willingness to work with the jail also increased when using this system. These findings demonstrate that using telepsychiatry within Allegheny County Jail is necessary because it could alleviate the severe understaffing and lack of mental health services in not only this local jail, but jails across the nation.

Background: Opioid use disorder is prevalent among individuals who are incarcerated, yet medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are not widely available in United States jails and prisons. Negative staff attitudes across the criminal legal system may prevent MOUD from being provided. We sought to determine if staff attitudes are associated with the provision of MOUD in prisons or jails. Methods: 227 staff members of 43 jails and partnering community-based treatment providers answered questions on the effectiveness and acceptability of methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. Response patterns were summarized with principal component analysis. Mixed-effects regression was performed to determine if attitudes toward MOUD were associated with the number of individuals screened and diagnosed with an OUD, referred to treatment, provided MOUD and referred to treatment after release. Results: Sites whose staff had negative attitudes towards methadone and positive attitudes towards naltrexone were associated with fewer people being screened (Mean ratio [MR] = 0.84, 95 % CI: [0.72, 0.97]), diagnosed (MR = 0.85, 95 % CI: [0.73, 0.99]), referred (MR = 0.76, 95 % CI: [0.65, 0.89]), provided MOUD (MR = 0.70, 95 % CI: [0.58, 0.84]), and referred after release (MR = 0.82, 95 % CI: [0.72, 0.94]). Sites with overall positive attitudes towards all MOUD were associated with more people being screened (MR = 1.16, 95 % CI: [1.01, 1.34]), diagnosed (MR = 1.37, 95 % CI: [1.18, 1.60]), and referred to treatment (MR = 1.41, 95 % CI: [1.20, 1.65]). Conclusions: Attitudinal barriers exist in the criminal legal system and are associated with the provision of MOUD.

The commercial surrogacy industry in India administers in a way where the women working as surrogate mothers live in surrogate houses. It is a space deliberately designed and run by either the fertility clinics or a third-party agency, where the surrogate mothers are required to stay for the entire gestation period. The surrogacy industry in India utilizes the vulnerability of couples who do not or cannot have children, in order to prepare valuable and docile bodies which can serve as a platform for accumulation of wealth. This paper draws from an ethnographic inquiry of the surrogate housing facilities functioning in two cities in India: Anand and Bengaluru. The paper will argue that the surrogacy industry in India produces geographies of carceral domesticity by deploying disciplining apparatuses governing the day-to-day mundane activities of the reproductive laborers. The medical experts often resort to the narrative that these women cannot be trusted with the safety of the babies they carry, hence, justifying their confinement in the surrogate house. Further, the possibility that the surrogate mothers may develop emotional attachments to the babies they carry, which in turn, will endanger the surrogacy arrangements, also runs through such narratives of regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"I Refuse for the Devil to Take My Soul: Inside Cook County Jail" is a book that provides insight into the experiences of incarcerated individuals at Cook County Jail in Chicago. The jail has a significant population of mentally ill inmates and has faced criticism for inadequate healthcare and safety concerns. The book features interviews and portraits of inmates and staff, aiming to give a voice to those impacted by the criminal justice system and promote a deeper understanding of their experiences. It explores the intersection of mental illness and the criminal justice system, highlighting the overrepresentation of individuals with mental illness in American incarceration. The text also discusses the challenges faced by incarcerated individuals with mental illness, including longer periods of incarceration, abuse, and higher rates of recidivism. It emphasizes the need for policy changes to reduce incarceration levels and improve mental health care in jails and prisons. The article also discusses the importance of qualitative data and visual representations, such as photographs, in understanding the experiences of incarcerated individuals. It compares the book "I Refuse" to other works that have documented incarceration and emphasizes the social significance of jails and prisons beyond their role in disease transmission. [Extracted from the article]

Marshaling ethnographic data from a county jail, this study introduces "autonomy"—a novel concept and measurement of the degree to which an actor's exchange initiations are regulated by other exchange relations. This study rearticulates mutual dependence arguments about the social order of penological living in terms of social exchange theory and offers several innovations: 1) the structural forms of exchange relations in a penal housing unit stratify "carceral autonomy" across members of a social order; 2) diminished carceral autonomy contributes to the buildup of "exchange frustration"—the mixture of discontent and sadness experienced when goals cannot be achieved due the structure of an exchange network; 3) deprivations, inefficacies, and imported cultural standards contribute to what is exchanged and with whom in a penological setting; 4) caretaking in penological housing units is as much about maintaining social order through a form of generalized exchange as it is about network members helping each other; and 5) the emotional landscape of penological living can be mapped, in part, by examining the distribution of carceral autonomy and exchange frustration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jail incarceration substantially transforms romantic relationships, and incarceration may alter the commitment between partners, thereby undermining or strengthening relationships. In this article, we use in‐depth interviews with 85 women connected to incarcerated men (as current or former romantic partners) to explore how women articulate relationship changes that stem from their partner's jail incarceration, a common but understudied form of contact with the criminal legal system. We identify three interrelated and mutually reinforcing processes, which are shaped by and shape a partner's commitment to the relationship. First, incarceration produces liminality in the status of the relationship. Second, incarceration fosters women's sense of independence from their incarcerated partners. Third, incarceration creates space for partners to reevaluate how they prioritize the relationship in their lives. Jail incarceration intervenes in romantic relationships at different points during each relationship, and accordingly, women experience heterogeneity in processes of liminality, independence, and reprioritization. These processes contribute to differential relationship experiences, with some relationships deteriorating during incarceration, others strengthening, and others neither deteriorating nor strengthening. By systematically uncovering these processes linking jail incarceration to romantic relationships, we advance an understanding of how the criminal legal system can shape relationship commitment processes and inequalities among families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have investigated the social sources of power that correctional officers embrace as their means of control over people who are incarcerated. However, this work has been conducted with community correctional officers and those working in state prisons, with almost no attention to officers who work in local jails. Jails are distinctive in ways that may be important for the bases of power on which officers may draw, and the current study analyzed data from officers employed by a large urban jail. Jail officers favored coercive power more so and referent power less so than has been reported in prior studies of prison officers. Further, we employed latent class analysis to identify groups of officers and analyzed covariates of the resultant classes. We discuss implications for understanding the exercise of power in local jails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the legal and historical origins of black jail debt peonage, which emerged in the aftermath of the Nat Turner rebellion in 1831, when Virginia enacted stricter laws to control and punish African American population. Topics discussed include difference between debt peonage and enslavement, a quantitative analysis of the Richmond city sergeant jail register from 1841 to 1846, and background on the practice of hiring out free Black Virginians to pay a jail debt.

Most deportations of noncitizens living in Wisconsin involve violations of state law. In Wisconsin--and across the country--the majority of noncitizens who face deportation proceedings do so after coming into contact with the criminal legal system. When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) learns that a potentially removable noncitizen is in criminal custody, it issues a request, known as an ICE detainer, to law enforcement personnel to hold that person until ICE agents can detain them. Most Wisconsin law enforcement agencies comply with these requests, and several Wisconsin sheriffs have entered into agreements with ICE, known as Section 287(g) agreements, to take on additional immigration enforcement duties. This Comment argues that such cooperation is unlawful. Holding someone on an ICE detainer constitutes an arrest. Under Wisconsin law, the power to arrest must come from a state statute, and no state statute authorizes arrests for civil immigration violations. Therefore, Wisconsin law enforcement agencies may not comply with ICE detainers because there is no state law authority to do so. The aforementioned Section 287(g) agreements are likewise unlawful. Per the Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 287(g) agreements must be consistent with state law. Wisconsin law does not authorize detainer compliance, an integral component of the state's Section 287(g) agreements. The agreements currently operational in Wisconsin are therefore inconsistent with state law and thus invalid. Moreover, these agreements were entered improperly. This Comment builds on the existing literature regarding ICE detainers and Section 287(g) agreements by offering a novel, Wisconsin-specific set of arguments against such agreements. It also synthesizes several recent cases related to ICE detainers and Section 287(g) agreements. The Comment concludes by sketching litigation strategies to implement its arguments. Given the state's gerrymandered legislature, litigation likely offers the sole means of ending Wisconsin law enforcement agencies' unlawful compliance with ICE detainers, eliminating the state's problematic, ineffective Section 287(g) agreements, and keeping Wisconsin immigrant families intact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few studies that focus on jail correctional officers' views. We surveyed officers in thirteen Florida county jails and examine the impact of personal characteristics and officer attitudes on rehabilitation attitudes, as well as differences in rehabilitative attitudes across jails. Results indicate female, nonwhite, more religious, less conservative officers, and those more satisfied with their job were more likely to support rehabilitation, while those who preferred more social distance were less likely to. Results also reveal significant differences in support for rehabilitation between jails. This study confirms that findings regarding prison officers are consistent with those for jail officers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incarcerated populations are highly vulnerable to respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19 and influenza. We evaluated COVID-19 and influenza vaccine ordering and administration rates among 13 of 14 Massachusetts county jails and compared them with rates in the general population. Results showed heterogeneity in the number of vaccines ordered per incarcerated individual across institutions, with small to medium-sized jails ordering more vaccines per person. Vaccine administration in jails utilized approximately 41% of the total vaccines ordered by jails. Additionally, the study revealed disparities in vaccine brand distribution between incarcerated and non-incarcerated populations, potentially perpetuating historical health inequities in carceral settings. Considering that vaccine hesitancy among incarcerated individuals and jail staff has been identified as a significant barrier to vaccination, these findings underscore the need for equitable and comprehensive vaccine distribution strategies in carceral settings, necessitating collaboration between public health and correctional systems to ensure the health and well-being of incarcerated individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is highly prevalent in United States prisons and jails. In prisons and jails, rates of infection are ten to twenty times greater than national levels. And, more than thirty percent of all people living with HCV in the United States will spend time in prisons and jails in any given year. Rates are especially high among people who inject drugs (PWID), a population whose members are also likely to move between carceral settings and the community. Thus, addressing HCV among incarcerated populations would have a significant effect on the virus's transmission both in and out of confinement and is a crucial part of any HCV elimination strategy. Safe and effective HCV treatment is available. Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) offered in an eight to twelve week course of oral treatment cure HCV in more than ninety percent of cases. Widespread testing and treatment in prisons and widespread testing and treatment or linkage to community care in jails are essential public health approaches. But testing and treatment in confinement lags behind medical guidance and public health recommendations. People incarcerated in prisons and detained in jails are entitled to adequate health care, and the U.S. Constitution prohibits deliberate indifference to their serious medical needs. In recent years, lawsuits filed by people with HCV in carceral facilities across the country have alleged violations of federal law for failure to provide DAA treatment. Although litigation results have been mixed, settlement agreements in states across the country have expanded HCV testing and broadened access to DAA treatment. These settlement agreements reflect a growing understanding that widespread testing and treatment is cost-effective, avoid the harmful health consequences of disease progression, and meaningfully reduce community transmission. This paper recommends model policies for prisons and jails to expand HCV testing and DAA treatment. The policy recommendations draw from relevant settlement agreements and current medical guidelines, supplemented by input from public health experts, medical professionals, and advocates. The paper proceeds as follows: • Part I describes the HCV epidemic in United States prisons and jails, the recent sea change in treatment protocols, and relevant clinical guidance and public health recommendations. • Part II sets out the legal landscape, including governing federal law and judicial decisions interpreting that law in this context, and describes settlement agreements in class action lawsuits addressing DAA access. • Finally, Part III offers model policies for prisons and jails to expand testing and treatment and to support successful outcomes for people with HCV in their custody. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]