Public Health Nursing Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 1–2 0737-1209/© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. doi: 10.1111/phn.12185
Mass Incarceration Mass incarceration is one of the defining features of life in 21st century United States. This country has the highest incarceration rate in the world and more prisoners than any other country in the world; with 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. incarcerates 25% of the world’s prisoners (Walmsley, n.d.). Largely a function of the “War on Drugs” which began in the 1980s, incarceration is one of the most serious racial inequities in current U.S. society. African-Americans now constitute almost one-half of the 2.3 million prison/jail population; they are incarcerated at nearly a rate nearly six times that of Whites (NAACP, n.d.). Between incarceration, parole, and probation more AfricanAmerican men are currently under the jurisdiction of federal, state, and local criminal justice systems than were enslaved in 1850 (Alexander, 2010). The situation is also dire for women. While the overall numbers are lower, women’s incarceration rates have increased at nearly twice the rate of men (Pew Center on the States, 2008). Nationally, from 1995 to 2005, the adult female jail population increased an average of 6.2% per year, compared to 3.7% for males. Similar to men, though, AfricanAmerican women were incarcerated at a rate almost three times that of White women (Mauer, 2013). Well-documented racial profiling by police at the local level is an early step in these outrageously disproportionate incarceration rates (Hudson, 2010). The unaddressed deaths of African-American men, most recently of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York are not isolated examples, but rather represent common occurrences in minority communities. Such events occurring with distressing regularity are not indicative of a fair and just society in which the lives of all members are valued. These statistics demonstrate gross inequity, but beyond that, why should public health nurses in the United States and around the world care about this? They should care because high incarceration rates have negative effects on individuals, on families, on communities, and on society. Individual
EDITORIAL
men and women who are incarcerated must endure the physical and emotional conditions of a justice system that is focused on punishment, not rehabilitation. Their lives are disrupted and they return from jail or prison to find discrimination in housing, education, employment, and voting rights, perfectly legal against anyone labeled a “felon.” Relationships are torn apart by arrests and incarcerations, with families having to make alternative arrangements for social, emotional and financial support. Almost 2 million children in the United States have a parent in jail or prison (Clear, 2007). The majority of incarcerated women have infants or school-age children, and families or the foster care system must step in to provide immediate care for children. Incarceration of a parent and the resultant impaired parent-child bonds has immediate negative effects on children in the form of disruption and loss; it is one of the 10 traumatic events on the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (Felitti et al., 1998). Children exposed to even one of these events have elevated risk of depression, suicide, being violence, being a victim of violence in the short-term and of long-term health, social, and emotional problems. The cost to communities is also enormous. The removal and reentry of large numbers of young men changes the social networks of a community; shifting populations make it difficult to sustain the long-term relationships that are useful for solving everyday problems. Strong evidence exists that high incarceration rates in communities actually result in an increase in subsequent crime (Clear, 2007). Reentry into resource poor communities also means that the disproportionate number of offenders who have mental health or substance abuse issues, sexually transmitted infections, HIV, hepatitis C, or tuberculosis infection will remain untreated. The United States spends about $70 billion on corrections yearly. States’ corrections spending on prison, probation, and parole has nearly quadrupled over the past two decades, making it the
1
2
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fastest-growing budget item after Medicaid (Henrichson & Delaney, 2012). In the current zero-sum environment of funding, more money spent on prisons means less money available for public health programs. While the budgetary demands of huge prison populations at a time of fiscal austerity and crisis are finally forcing states to reconsider their sentencing policies, such policy change is a slow process. Despite being one of the major public health challenges in the United States today, the effects of mass incarceration are often overlooked in population health discourse. Knowledge is power. Nurses can be aware of these statistics on a national level and in your community; speak up about this inequity. Seek out local groups working on reentry issues. Be a part of the alternatives to incarceration movement that are growing in communities around the country Nurses have influence. Let your voice be heard. Patricia J. Kelly Kansas City, Missouri
January/February 2015
References Alexander, M. (2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: The New Press. Clear, T. (2007). Imprisoning communities: How mass incarceration makes disadvantaged neighborhoods worse. New York: Oxford University Press. Felitti, V., Anda, R., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D., Spitz, A., Edwards, V., et al. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14, 245–258. Henrichson, C., & Delaney, R. (2012). The price of prisons: What incarceration costs taxpayer. New York: The Vera Institute of Justice. Hudson, D. (2010). Racial profiling. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com Mauer, M. (2013). The changing racial dynamics of women’s incarceration. The sentencing project: Research and advocacy for reform. Retrieved from http://sentencingproject.org/doc/ publications/rd_Changing%20Racial%20Dynamics%202013. pdf NAACP (n.d.). Criminal justice fact sheet. Retrieved from http:// www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet Pew Center on the States. (2008). One in 100: Behind bars in America 2008. Retrieved from http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/One%20in%20100.pdf Walmsley, R. (n.d.). World prison population list. International Centre for Prison Studies. Retrieved from http://www.prisonstudies.org/sites/prisonstudies.org/files/resources/downloads/wppl_10.pdf
Announcement of Special Issue
EDITORIAL
Health Equity and Solutions to Addressing Disparity An unequal distribution of factors such as literacy, poverty, education, health access, and employment, as well as the negative impacts of racism, contribute to disparities in life expectancy, health-related quality of life, and health outcomes. Concerns about how to address these factors have led to a focus on community-driven health equity initiatives and the promotion of a “health in all policies” approach to alleviating the negative impact of social determinants. Health-in-All Policies spur collaborations in which cross-sectors contribute to population health and to health equity. We welcome manuscripts that discuss the critical contribution to health from programs such as:
• Health Equity Initiatives • Transportation • Built environment • Criminal justice • Economic policy • Education • Others Special Issue Editors: Elizabeth Reifsnider PhD, RN, FAAN Kristen Welker-Hood, ScD, RN Manuscripts due October 1, 2015
Copyright of Public Health Nursing is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
Mass Incarceration Mass incarceration is one of the defining features of life in 21st century United States. This country has the highest incarceration rate in the world and more prisoners than any other country in the world; with 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. incarcerates 25% of the world’s prisoners (Walmsley, n.d.). Largely a function of the “War on Drugs” which began in the 1980s, incarceration is one of the most serious racial inequities in current U.S. society. African-Americans now constitute almost one-half of the 2.3 million prison/jail population; they are incarcerated at nearly a rate nearly six times that of Whites (NAACP, n.d.). Between incarceration, parole, and probation more AfricanAmerican men are currently under the jurisdiction of federal, state, and local criminal justice systems than were enslaved in 1850 (Alexander, 2010). The situation is also dire for women. While the overall numbers are lower, women’s incarceration rates have increased at nearly twice the rate of men (Pew Center on the States, 2008). Nationally, from 1995 to 2005, the adult female jail population increased an average of 6.2% per year, compared to 3.7% for males. Similar to men, though, AfricanAmerican women were incarcerated at a rate almost three times that of White women (Mauer, 2013). Well-documented racial profiling by police at the local level is an early step in these outrageously disproportionate incarceration rates (Hudson, 2010). The unaddressed deaths of African-American men, most recently of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York are not isolated examples, but rather represent common occurrences in minority communities. Such events occurring with distressing regularity are not indicative of a fair and just society in which the lives of all members are valued. These statistics demonstrate gross inequity, but beyond that, why should public health nurses in the United States and around the world care about this? They should care because high incarceration rates have negative effects on individuals, on families, on communities, and on society. Individual
EDITORIAL
men and women who are incarcerated must endure the physical and emotional conditions of a justice system that is focused on punishment, not rehabilitation. Their lives are disrupted and they return from jail or prison to find discrimination in housing, education, employment, and voting rights, perfectly legal against anyone labeled a “felon.” Relationships are torn apart by arrests and incarcerations, with families having to make alternative arrangements for social, emotional and financial support. Almost 2 million children in the United States have a parent in jail or prison (Clear, 2007). The majority of incarcerated women have infants or school-age children, and families or the foster care system must step in to provide immediate care for children. Incarceration of a parent and the resultant impaired parent-child bonds has immediate negative effects on children in the form of disruption and loss; it is one of the 10 traumatic events on the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (Felitti et al., 1998). Children exposed to even one of these events have elevated risk of depression, suicide, being violence, being a victim of violence in the short-term and of long-term health, social, and emotional problems. The cost to communities is also enormous. The removal and reentry of large numbers of young men changes the social networks of a community; shifting populations make it difficult to sustain the long-term relationships that are useful for solving everyday problems. Strong evidence exists that high incarceration rates in communities actually result in an increase in subsequent crime (Clear, 2007). Reentry into resource poor communities also means that the disproportionate number of offenders who have mental health or substance abuse issues, sexually transmitted infections, HIV, hepatitis C, or tuberculosis infection will remain untreated. The United States spends about $70 billion on corrections yearly. States’ corrections spending on prison, probation, and parole has nearly quadrupled over the past two decades, making it the
1
2
Public Health Nursing
Volume 32
Number 1
fastest-growing budget item after Medicaid (Henrichson & Delaney, 2012). In the current zero-sum environment of funding, more money spent on prisons means less money available for public health programs. While the budgetary demands of huge prison populations at a time of fiscal austerity and crisis are finally forcing states to reconsider their sentencing policies, such policy change is a slow process. Despite being one of the major public health challenges in the United States today, the effects of mass incarceration are often overlooked in population health discourse. Knowledge is power. Nurses can be aware of these statistics on a national level and in your community; speak up about this inequity. Seek out local groups working on reentry issues. Be a part of the alternatives to incarceration movement that are growing in communities around the country Nurses have influence. Let your voice be heard. Patricia J. Kelly Kansas City, Missouri
January/February 2015
References Alexander, M. (2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: The New Press. Clear, T. (2007). Imprisoning communities: How mass incarceration makes disadvantaged neighborhoods worse. New York: Oxford University Press. Felitti, V., Anda, R., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D., Spitz, A., Edwards, V., et al. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14, 245–258. Henrichson, C., & Delaney, R. (2012). The price of prisons: What incarceration costs taxpayer. New York: The Vera Institute of Justice. Hudson, D. (2010). Racial profiling. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com Mauer, M. (2013). The changing racial dynamics of women’s incarceration. The sentencing project: Research and advocacy for reform. Retrieved from http://sentencingproject.org/doc/ publications/rd_Changing%20Racial%20Dynamics%202013. pdf NAACP (n.d.). Criminal justice fact sheet. Retrieved from http:// www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet Pew Center on the States. (2008). One in 100: Behind bars in America 2008. Retrieved from http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/One%20in%20100.pdf Walmsley, R. (n.d.). World prison population list. International Centre for Prison Studies. Retrieved from http://www.prisonstudies.org/sites/prisonstudies.org/files/resources/downloads/wppl_10.pdf
Announcement of Special Issue
EDITORIAL
Health Equity and Solutions to Addressing Disparity An unequal distribution of factors such as literacy, poverty, education, health access, and employment, as well as the negative impacts of racism, contribute to disparities in life expectancy, health-related quality of life, and health outcomes. Concerns about how to address these factors have led to a focus on community-driven health equity initiatives and the promotion of a “health in all policies” approach to alleviating the negative impact of social determinants. Health-in-All Policies spur collaborations in which cross-sectors contribute to population health and to health equity. We welcome manuscripts that discuss the critical contribution to health from programs such as:
• Health Equity Initiatives • Transportation • Built environment • Criminal justice • Economic policy • Education • Others Special Issue Editors: Elizabeth Reifsnider PhD, RN, FAAN Kristen Welker-Hood, ScD, RN Manuscripts due October 1, 2015
Copyright of Public Health Nursing is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
