Cumulative Colorism in Criminal Courts.

A growing literature documents skin color stratification in punishment, whereby darker-skinned individuals fare worse than their lighter-skinned counterparts. Virtually all of this research has focused on colorism operating through direct channels. Utilizing a novel dataset linking the mugshots and court records of 6931 felony defendants from Miami-Dade County (Florida) from 2012 to 2015, we show that colorism in punishment, particularly for Hispanics, operates through indirect mechanisms - in addition to direct channels. We argue that colorism in punishment is sustained through a cumulative (dis)advantage process, highlighting how skin color stratification is institutionalized in the criminal justice system.

Incarceration Rates and Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in US Counties, 2011-2016.

Objectives. To examine rates of sexually transmitted infections as a function of jail and prison incarceration rates across US counties for the years 2011 to 2016.Methods. We used data from several national databases. The outcomes were county-level chlamydia and gonorrhea incidence as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012-2016). The exposures were lagged specifications of county-level jail and prison incarceration rates as reported by the Vera Institute of Justice (2011-2015). We estimated mixed models to account for the 3 sources of response variable variation occurring across repeated measures collected from counties nested within states.Results. In the final model, jail and prison incarceration rates were associated with a rate increase of 10.13 per 100 000 and 8.22 per 100 000, respectively, of chlamydia incidence. The corresponding rate increases for gonorrhea incidence were 2.47 per 100 000 and 4.40 per 100 000.Conclusions. These findings provide some evidence that the documented differences in chlamydia and gonorrhea incidence between counties may be partially attributable to differences in jail and prison incarceration rates.

Normalising desistance: contextualising marijuana and cocaine use careers in young adults.

Although there is a vast literature on drug use and addiction, there is little work that addresses the long-term use of drugs within the general population. We take a more contextual look in examining longitudinal drug use patterns over the course of 14 years for a representative sample of young adults in their late teens and early twenties in the United States using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). We use a growth trajectory modelling approach for cocaine and marijuana users to determine general use careers. Using contextual and life-course variables, we then estimate a multinomial logistic regression model to predict group membership. In addition to establishing general use career groups, we ask how well mainstream theories comport with our findings and how the different chemical makeup of cocaine and marijuana influence our findings. We find four general use career groups: (i) high use/late desistance; (ii) peaked use/strong desistance; (iii) low use; and (iv) stable use/gradual desistance. Our results suggest similar careers for users of both drugs, with desistance over time as the rule for all groups. We also find some support for life-course and contextual factors in drug using patterns, but our findings challenge other psychological and criminological theories.

United States county jail treatment and care of pregnant incarcerated persons with opioid use disorder.

BACKGROUND: Standards of care for pregnant persons with opioid use disorder (OUD) have been published across multiple institutions specializing in obstetrics and addiction medicine. Yet, this population faces serious barriers in accessing medications for OUD (MOUD) while incarcerated. Therefore, we examined the availability of MOUD in jails. METHODS: A Cross-sectional survey of jail administrators (n=371 across 42 states; 2018-2019) was conducted. Key indicators for this analysis include pregnancy testing at intake, number of county jails offering methadone or buprenorphine to pregnant incarcerated persons for detoxification on admission, continuation of pre-incarceration treatment, or linkage to post-incarceration treatment. Analyses were performed using SAS. FINDINGS: Pregnant incarcerated persons had greater access to MOUD than non-pregnant persons (χ2=142.10, p<0.0001). Larger jurisdiction size and urban jails were significantly more likely to offer MOUD (χ2=30.12, p<0.0001; χ2=26.46, p<0.0001). Methadone was the most common MOUD offered for continued care for all incarcerated persons. Of the 144 jails within a county with at least one public methadone clinic, 33% did not offer methadone treatment to pregnant persons, and over 80% did not provide linkage after release from jail. CONCLUSION: MOUD access was greater for pregnant incarcerated persons compared to non-pregnant persons. Compared to urban jails, rural jails were significantly less likely to offer MOUD, even as the number of opioid deaths in rural counties continues to surpass those in urban counties. The lack of post-incarceration linkage in counties with at least one public methadone clinic could be indicative of broader issues surrounding connections to MOUD resources.

Infectious disease surveillance in U.S. jails: Findings from a national survey.

While infectious diseases (ID) are a well-documented public health issue in carceral settings, research on ID screening and treatment in jails is lacking. A survey was sent to 1,126 jails in the United States to identify the prevalence of health screenings at intake and characteristics of care for ID; 371 surveys were completed correctly and analyzed. Despite conflicting Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance, only seven percent of surveyed jails test individuals for HIV at admission. In 46% of jails, non-healthcare personnel perform ID screenings. Jails in less urban areas were more likely to report healthcare screenings performed by correctional officers. Survey findings indicate that HIV, HCV and TB testing during jail admissions and access to PrEP are severely lacking in less urban jails in particular. Recommendations are provided to improve ID surveillance and address the burden of ID in correctional facilities.