The National Death Index as a Source of Homicide Data: A Methodological Exposition of Promises and Pitfalls for Criminologists.

Criminologists largely rely on national de-identified data sources to study homicide in the United States. The National Death Index (NDI), a comprehensive and well-established database compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics, is an untapped source of homicide data that offers identifiable linkages to other data sources while retaining national coverage. This study's five aims follow. First, we review the data sources in articles published in Homicide Studies over the past decade. Second, we describe the NDI, including its origins, procedures, and uses. Third, we outline the procedures for linking a police gang intelligence database to the NDI. Fourth, we introduce the St. Louis Gang Member-Linked Mortality Files database, which is composed of 3,120 police-identified male gang members in the St. Louis area linked to NDI records. Finally, we report on preliminary cause-of-death findings. We conclude by outlining the benefits and drawbacks of the NDI as a source of homicide data for criminologists.

Exceptional mortality risk among police-identified young black male gang members.

Gang membership is associated with many risky behaviors but is often overlooked as a source of mortality among young Americans. Gang Member-Linked Mortality Files (GM-LMFs) match St. Louis, Missouri gang members listed in a law enforcement gang database to mortality records in the National Death Index. We created three analytic samples composed of black males aged 15-35 years by merging cases of the GM-LMFs with National Vital Statistics System and Census data in years 1993-2016. Mortality rates standardized to the 15-35-year-old 2010 U.S. male population were estimated for all-cause (1477.4, 99% CI = 1451.5-1503.3), homicide (950.1, 99% CI = 932.2-967.9), non-homicide injury (314.0, 99% CI = 308.8-319.2), and non-injury (213.3, 99% CI = 202.3-224.4) deaths in the GM-LMFs. We fitted Poisson rate models to estimate mortality rate ratios (RR) between gang members and demographically-matched comparison groups. Black male gang members in St. Louis were at an elevated mortality risk from all causes of death, and homicides contributed substantially to this risk. Compared to black males in St. Louis, gang members experienced greater relative risk of all-cause (RR = 2.9, 99% CI = 2.4-3.5), homicide (RR = 3.2, 99% CI = 2.5-4.1), and non-homicide injury (RR = 4.0, 99% CI = 2.8-5.8) mortality between 1993 and 2016. Relative risk was greater when compared to black males in St. Louis MSA, Missouri, and the USA. These results identify a key source of excess mortality among young black Americans. Health policies and interventions may be most efficacious when they acknowledge, address, and incorporate information about and target high-risk populations, including gang members, that contribute to relatively high mortality risk in the USA.

Reforming solitary confinement: the development, implementation, and processes of a restrictive housing step down reentry program in Oregon.

BACKGROUND: Over the past decade there have been numerous and impassioned calls to reform the practice of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons. This article examines the development, implementation, and processes of a restrictive housing reentry program in the Oregon Department of Corrections. It draws on data from official documents, site observations, and interviews with 12 prison officials and 38 prisoners. The Step Up Program (SUP) seeks to improve the living conditions in restrictive housing over business-as-usual, alleviate physiological and psychological harms of solitary confinement, and use rehabilitative programming to increase success upon returning to the general prison population or community. RESULTS: The impetus to change the culture and structure of restrictive housing was primarily the result of internal administrative reform. Prisoners assigned at random to housing assignments offered accounts of their daily activities suggesting that the SUP provides more time out-of-cell and greater access to other services and activities. Program participants preferred the living conditions in the SUP because they had more opportunities for social interaction and incentives for compliant behavior. However, views on the value of programming among respondents were mixed. CONCLUSIONS: The launch of the SUP occurred in early 2020, which was soon followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the program was never fully implemented as intended. As Oregon returns to more normal operations, it is possible that the SUP will be able to include even more out-of-cell time, greater socialization opportunities, and increased access to programming and other beneficial activities. As we await the opportunity to conduct prospective psychological and behavioral analyses, this study provides tentative support for the use of step down reentry programs in restrictive housing units. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework, Preparing adults in custody for successful reentry: An experimental study of a restrictive housing exit program in Oregon. Registered 4 October 2019, https://osf.io/t6qpx/.