Policy Determinants of Inequitable Exposure to the Criminal Legal System and Their Health Consequences Among Young People.

Criminalizing young people, particularly Black- and Brown-identified young people, has increasingly been a feature of US rhetoric, policies, and practices. Thus, the domains in which young people are exposed to the legal system have continued to expand, encompassing their communities, schools, and homes. Importantly, public health researchers have begun exploring links between legal system exposure and health, although this literature is primarily focused at the interpersonal level and assesses associations within a single domain or in adulthood.Using critical race theory and ecosocial theory of disease distribution, we identified potential policy-level determinants of criminalization and briefly summarized the literature on downstream health outcomes among young people. Our analysis suggests that policy decisions may facilitate the targeting of structurally marginalized young people across domains.Future research should (1) position these legislative decisions as primary exposures of interest to understand their association with health among young people and inform institutional-level intervention, (2) measure the totality of exposure to the criminal legal system across domains, and (3) use theory to examine the complex ways racism operates institutionally to shape inequitable distributions of associated health outcomes.

Impact of risk assessment on judges' fairness in sentencing relatively poor defendants.

OBJECTIVE: Use of risk assessment instruments in the criminal justice system is controversial. Advocates emphasize that risk assessments are more transparent, consistent, and accurate in predicting re-offending than judicial intuition. Skeptics worry that risk assessments will increase socioeconomic disparities in incarceration. Ultimately, judges make decisions-not risk assessments. This study tests whether providing risk assessment information interacts with a defendant's socioeconomic class to influence judges' sentencing decisions. HYPOTHESES: Tentatively, socioeconomic status was expected to have a main effect; without an interaction with risk assessment information. METHOD: Judges (N = 340) with sentencing experience were randomly assigned to review 1 of 4 case vignettes and sentence the defendant to probation, jail, or prison. Information in the vignettes was held constant, except the defendant's socioeconomic status and whether risk assessment information was provided. RESULTS: Risk assessment information reduced the likelihood of incarceration for relatively affluent defendants, but the same information increased the likelihood of incarceration for relatively poor defendants. This finding held after controlling for the sex, race, political orientation, and jurisdiction of the judge. CONCLUSIONS: Cuing judges to focus on risk may re-frame how they process socioeconomic status-a variable with opposite effects on perceptions of blameworthiness for past crime versus perceptions of risk for future crime. Providing risk assessment information may have transformed low socioeconomic status from a circumstance that reduced the likelihood of incarceration (by mitigating perceived blameworthiness) to a factor that increased the likelihood of incarceration (by increasing perceived risk). Under some circumstances, risk assessment information may increase sentencing disparities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Meeting the Needs of Justice-Involved People With Serious Mental Illness Within Community Behavioral Health Systems.

The overrepresentation of people with serious mental illness in the criminal justice system is a complex problem. A long-standing explanation for this phenomenon, the criminalization hypothesis, posits that policy changes that shifted the care of people with serious mental illness from psychiatric hospitals to an underfunded community treatment setting resulted in their overrepresentation within the criminal justice system. This framework has driven the development of interventions to connect people with serious mental illness to needed mental health and substance use treatment, a critical component for people in need. However, the criminalization hypothesis is a limited explanation of the overrepresentation of people with serious mental illness in the criminal justice system because it downplays the social and economic forces that have contributed to justice system involvement in general and minimizes the complex clinical, criminogenic, substance use, and social services needs of people with serious mental illness. A new approach is needed that focuses on addressing the multiple factors that contribute to justice involvement for this population. Although the authors' proposed approach may be viewed as aspirational, they suggest that an integrated community-based behavioral health system-i.e., intercept 0-serve as the focal point for coordinating and integrating services for justice-involved people with serious mental illness.

A meta-analysis of the emotional victim effect for female adult rape complainants: Does complainant distress influence credibility?

Rape cases have a disproportionately high attrition rate and low conviction rate compared with other criminal offenses. Evaluations of a rape complainant's credibility often determine whether a case progresses through the criminal justice system. Even though emotional demeanor is not related to witness honesty or accuracy, distressed rape complainants are perceived to be more credible than complainants who present with controlled affect. To understand the extent and robustness of the influence of emotional demeanor on credibility judgments of female adult rape complainants, we conducted a systematic review, meta-analysis, and p-curve analysis of the experimental simulated decision-making literature on the influence of complainant emotional demeanor on complainant credibility. The meta-analysis included 20 studies with participants who were criminal justice professionals (e.g., police officers and judges), community members, and mock jurors (N = 3128). Results suggest that distressed demeanor significantly increased perceptions of complainant credibility, with a small to moderate effect size estimate. Importantly, the results of p-curve analysis suggest that reporting bias is not a likely explanation for the effect of emotional demeanor on rape complainant credibility. Sample type (whether perceivers were criminal justice professionals or prospective jurors) and stimulus modality (whether perceivers read about or watched the complainant recount the alleged rape) were not found to moderate the effect size estimate. These results suggest that effective methods of reducing reliance on emotional demeanor to make credibility judgments about rape complainants should be investigated to make credibility assessments fairer and more accurate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Incarcerating Pregnant and Parenting Women, the New Witch Hunt: A Policy Analysis.

The mass incarceration of pregnant and parenting women is a serious problem in U.S. A policy focus is needed that takes a public health approach. This paper outlines the problems with health care delivery in correctional facilities. It is argued that correctional facilities are not the place for pregnant and parenting women. Alternative policies and programs are recommended that align with a public health approach and directly targets the pathways for imprisonment.

Mass incarceration, race inequality, and health: Expanding concepts and assessing impacts on well-being.

We explore race differences in how individuals experience mass incarceration, as well as in mass incarceration's impacts on measures of well-being that are recognized as major social determinants of health. We draw on baseline data from a sample of 302 men and women recently released from prison/jail or placed directly onto probation in New Haven, Connecticut (CT) for drug related offenses and followed at 6-month intervals for two years (2011-2014). We describe race differences in experiences of mass incarceration and in its impacts on well-being; and we conduct mediation analyses to analyze relationships among race, mass incarceration, and well-being. Blacks reported fewer adult convictions than whites, but an average of 2.5 more adult incarcerations. Blacks were more likely to have been incarcerated as a juvenile, spent time in a juvenile facility and in an adult facility as a juvenile, been on parole, and experienced multiple forms of surveillance. Whites were more likely to report being caught by the police doing something illegal but let go. Blacks were more likely to report any impact of incarceration on education, and dropping out of school, leaving a job, leaving their longest job, and becoming estranged from a family member due to incarceration. Whites were more likely to avoid getting needed health or social services for fear of arrest. Overall, Blacks reported a larger number of impacts of criminal justice involvement on well-being than whites. Number of adult incarcerations and of surveillance types, and being incarcerated as a juvenile, each mediated the relationship among race, mass incarceration, and well-being. Though more research is necessary, experiences of mass incarceration appear to vary by race and these differences, in turn, have implications for interventions aimed at addressing the impacts of mass incarceration on health and well-being.

Juvenile probation officers' evaluation of traumatic event exposures and traumatic stress symptoms as responsivity factors in risk assessment and case planning.

Juvenile probation officers (JPOs) are increasingly using risk/needs assessments to evaluate delinquency risk, identify criminogenic needs and specific responsivity factors, and use this information in case planning. Justice-involved youth are exposed to traumatic events and experience traumatic stress symptoms at a high rate; such information warrants attention during the case planning process. The extent to which JPOs identify specific responsivity factors, in general, and trauma history, specifically, when scoring risk/need assessments is understudied. In the current study, 147 JPOs reviewed case vignettes that varied by the adolescents' gender (male vs. female), traumatic event exposure (present vs. absent), and traumatic stress symptoms (present vs. absent), and then scored the YLS/CMI and developed case plans based on that information. JPOs who received a vignette that included trauma information identified a higher number of trauma-specific responsivity factors on the YLS/CMI. Despite an overall high needs match ratio (57.2%), few JPOs prioritized trauma as a target on case plans. The findings underscore the importance of incorporating trauma screening into risk/needs assessment and case planning. (PsycINFO Database Record

Fitness to plead: Development and validation of a standardised assessment instrument.

The ability of an individual to participate in courtroom proceedings is assessed by clinicians using legal 'fitness to plead' criteria. Findings of 'unfitness' are so rare that there is considerable professional unease concerning the utility of the current subjective assessment process. As a result, mentally disordered defendants may be subjected unfairly to criminal trials. The Law Commission in England and Wales has proposed legal reform, as well as the utilisation of a defined psychiatric instrument to assist in fitness to plead assessments. Similar legal reforms are occurring in other jurisdictions. Our objective was to produce and validate a standardised assessment instrument of fitness to plead employing a filmed vignette of criminal proceedings. The instrument was developed in consultation with legal and clinical professionals, and was refined using standard item reduction methods in two initial rounds of testing (n = 212). The factorial structure, test-retest reliability and convergent validity of the resultant instrument were assessed in a further round (n = 160). As a result of this iterative process a 25-item scale was produced, with an underlying two-factor structure representing the foundational and decision-making abilities underpinning fitness to plead. The sub-scales demonstrate good internal consistency (factor 1: 0·76; factor 2: 0·65) and test-retest stability (0·7) as well as excellent convergent validity with scores of intelligence, executive function and mentalising abilities (p≤0·01 in all domains). Overall the standardised Fitness to Plead Assessment instrument has good psychometric properties. It has the potential to ensure that the significant numbers of mentally ill and cognitively impaired individuals who face trial are objectively assessed, and the courtroom process critically informed.

The impact of defendants' race in competency to stand trial referrals.

In the United States, competency to stand trial (CST) evaluations ensure that criminal defendants are capable of participating in their defenses, thus ensuring an important legal right. However, some research has suggested that the CST process may be impacted by legally irrelevant factors such as a defendant's race and cultural background. However, the majority of researchers examined factors that are predictive of CST recommendations and decisions. Few studies have focused on potential racial discrepancies in attorney referrals for CST evaluations and whether they are exacerbated by professional experience. The current study examined potential racial disparities in referrals for CST evaluations among 322 law students and 102 attorneys. Participants were randomly assigned to read vignettes describing either African American or Caucasian defendants who varied in their fitness to stand trial. The participants were asked to indicate whether they would refer the client for a CST evaluation and to describe their reasoning. The results indicated that both law students and attorneys were generally more likely to refer unfit rather than fit defendants, indicating an understanding of the legal criteria. Law students displayed a racial bias, only when referring the defendants who were unfit due to the lack of a rational understanding of the relevant legal case, χ2(1) = 4.90, p = 0.03, Φ = 0.13. Fitness condition was the only significant predictor of attorney referrals. The generally encouraging results indicated that professional experience did not increase racial biases.

Sexual Scripts and Criminal Statutes: Gender Restrictions, Spousal Allowances, and Victim Accountability After Rape Law Reform.

The author provides a mixed-methods assessment of U.S. rape statutes to assess progress in reform. Contemporary statutes offer restrictive frameworks for distinguishing criminal from noncriminal sexual violence, many of which are grounded in gendered and heterosexist assumptions. Fourteen states retain gender restrictions in rape statutes. Twenty maintain marital distinctions that limit accountability for spousal rape. Furthermore, whereas explicit resistance requirements have been eliminated nationwide, implicit resistance expectations manifest through emphasis on physical force and involuntary intoxication. Analyses conclude with recommendations for further legal reform and a discussion of the potential for legislation to affect broader social perceptions of rape.

Supporting Rape Survivors Through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme: An Exploration of English and Welsh Independent Sexual Violence Advisors' Experiences.

English and Welsh responses to rape have long been critically examined, leading to attempted improvements in the criminal justice system. Despite this, little attention has been paid to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS) and the difficulties applying it to rape. To begin addressing this gap, researchers interviewed three, and qualitatively surveyed 22, Independent Sexual Violence Advisors. The findings suggest that CICS may not only reinforce rape myths and disadvantage vulnerable survivors, but is also a source of validation and contributes to survivor justice. The study, while exploratory, therefore, highlights the need for further discussion about rape survivor compensation.

Overcoming Challenges to Care in the Juvenile Justice System: A Case Study and Commentary.

Youth in the criminal justice system commonly suffer from multiple medical and psychological health problems. Because they likely live in lower socioeconomic environments, the medical care they receive through the justice system might be their only recent medical care and can result in the discovery of health problems or chronic illnesses that must be managed while in the system and beyond. We describe the case of an adolescent diagnosed with a serious chronic disease during his time in an urban detention center to illustrate how health workers and justice staff must use a team approach in caring for this vulnerable population of children. Barriers to appropriate care, including social and systems-level challenges, are discussed. The lessons learned in this case can be applied more broadly to other vulnerable youth populations, including those in foster care and impoverished communities where the primary care pediatrician (or other assigned pediatric specialist) is both the leader of the medical team and an advocate for quality care.

HIV, prisoners, and human rights.

Worldwide, a disproportionate burden of HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis is present among current and former prisoners. This problem results from laws, policies, and policing practices that unjustly and discriminatorily detain individuals and fail to ensure continuity of prevention, care, and treatment upon detention, throughout imprisonment, and upon release. These government actions, and the failure to ensure humane prison conditions, constitute violations of human rights to be free of discrimination and cruel and inhuman treatment, to due process of law, and to health. Although interventions to prevent and treat HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and drug dependence have proven successful in prisons and are required by international law, they commonly are not available. Prison health services are often not governed by ministries responsible for national public health programmes, and prison officials are often unwilling to implement effective prevention measures such as needle exchange, condom distribution, and opioid substitution therapy in custodial settings, often based on mistaken ideas about their incompatibility with prison security. In nearly all countries, prisoners face stigma and social marginalisation upon release and frequently are unable to access health and social support services. Reforms in criminal law, policing practices, and justice systems to reduce imprisonment, reforms in the organisation and management of prisons and their health services, and greater investment of resources are needed.

Low-SES Preschool Children's Eyewitness Memory: The Role of Narrative Skill.

This study investigated the relation between narrative skill and eyewitness memory in young children from low-socioeconomic status (SES) communities. A total of 176 children aged 3-5 years were interviewed about a conflict event they witnessed. The quality of their narratives about the event and their ability to narrate a story from a picture book were examined in relation to memory of the event. Comprehensive measures of individual differences in vocabulary skill, adaptive language use, and behavioral characteristics were also administered. The results revealed that children who produced longer, more descriptive, and more cohesive narratives about the event recalled more accurate details and made fewer memory errors, independent of their language ability and behavioral characteristics. The quality of story narratives did not make any independent contributions to memory. Child's age was a robust predictor of memory for the event. Implications of the findings for understanding eyewitness memory in low-SES children are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Emotional Child Witness Effect Survives Presentation Mode.

The emotional witness effect - the phenomenon whereby people are affected by the emotional manner in which a witness presents testimony - constitutes a possible source of wrongful decisions in legal contexts. One stereotypical view of abused children is that they should be sad when talking about their experiences of maltreatment, whereas children may in fact express a variety of emotional expressions when talking about abusive events. This raises the question as to whether there is an optimal mode in which to present child victim testimony that could reduce the possible influence of displayed emotions. In the present study, mock police interviews were carried out with female child actors, role-playing the victims of physical abuse by their stepfather, telling the same story with four emotional expressions (neutral, sad, angry, or positive). Laypersons (N = 465) were presented with the interviews as transcripts with the emotional reactions of the child witness noted, audio recordings, or videotaped recordings. Participants then rated the credibility of the victim witness. Replicating previous results, the "sad" expression elicited the highest credibility ratings across all modes of presentations. Presentation mode affected ratings of credibility, with the transcript versions resulting in the highest ratings. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Responding to the mental health and substance abuse needs of youth in the juvenile justice system: Ohio's Behavioral Health/Juvenile Justice Initiative.

Nearly half a million inmates with mental health issues are housed in our country's jails and prisons. The majority of juvenile justice-involved (JJI) youth have a history of behavioral health (mental health or substance use) problems. Multiple studies estimate that between 65% to 75% of juvenile justice-involved youth have at least one behavioral health disorder, and 20% to 30% report suffering from a serious behavioral disorder. With so many juveniles with behavioral health issues entering a system that was not designed to provide comprehensive treatment, communities are reevaluating their approach to juvenile justice. This article describes the origins and the results of Ohio's Behavioral Health Juvenile Justice Initiative (BHJJ), a diversion program for juvenile justice-involved youth with behavioral health issues. The authors also discuss the key components of program success, offer advice to other jurisdictions considering implementing similar programming, and identify ways to take diversion programs to scale. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Epidemiological Criminology: Contextualization of HIV/AIDS Health Care for Female Inmates.

Worldwide, women are increasingly being incarcerated. One unintended consequence is the increase in unhealthy female offenders. Among the more serious health concerns are HIV and AIDS. Challenges associated with caring for women with HIV/AIDS impacts not only disease management and infection control within correctional facilities but also the prisoners' home communities where they will need health care, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, housing assistance, and employment opportunities. No bridging theory has been presented that links prison and community health concerns with criminal justice policy. This article not only presents recommendations for effective HIV/AIDS policy but also suggests epidemiological criminology as a means of explicit merging of health with justice issues and consequently provides a bridging framework.

Poly-victimization among girls in the justice system: trajectories of risk and associations to juvenile offending.

Life History Calendars and the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire were used to collect data from 100 delinquent girls to (a) examine range and co-occurrence of different types of violence over the life span, (b) examine independent and cumulative trajectories of risk for varied types of victimization, and (c) examine the relationship of victimization to girls' offending. Risk trajectories demonstrate critical risk periods for different forms of violence exposure. Cox regression was used to examine the predictive value of different forms of violence exposure for the onset of delinquent and criminal behavior. Findings illuminate the need for programs addressing substance use and alternative coping mechanisms.