Perspective: Correctional
Mental health, chronic and infectious conditions among pregnant persons in US state prisons and local jails 2016–2017
This study demonstrates that chronic medical and mental health conditions are prevalent among pregnant people in US prisons and jails. However, significant variability in the reported number of cases of these conditions from state to state and between facility types implies a lack of or inadequate screening practices. These data indicate the need for comprehensive screening and appropriate care for the complex needs of pregnant incarcerated people.
State Laws on Substance Use Treatment for Incarcerated Pregnant and Postpartum People
The majority of states across the U.S. lack legislation that address SUD screening and treatment among incarcerated perinatal populations. Given the known limited access to SUD treatment for perinatal populations in custody, increasing legislative statutes could increase access to essential care.
State Standards for Pregnancy-Related Health Care in Prison
This resource guide includes five sections: First, it provides a short summary of minimum national standards that correctional facilities should meet as one important step for addressing the health needs of pregnant inmates. Second, it offers a short summary of the federal courts’ treatment of the use of restraints on pregnant inmates. Third, it provides an overview of the ways that federal agencies meet or fail to meet national standards. Fourth, it offers a general overview of the ways that the state policies located meet or fail to meet those national standards.
The Realities of Pregnancy and Mothering While Incarcerated
Women of reproductive age may experience pregnancy and mothering in a correctional environment designed for men. Rates of incarceration for women in the United States are high by international standards, and they continue to rise. Mothers were often single mothers prior to incarceration, and they are often separated from their children for the first time upon entering prison. Pregnancy, delivery, lactation, and parenting each require special consideration. Outcomes of pregnancy in prison are better overall than for similarly disadvantaged women in the community.
The Realities of Pregnancy and Mothering While Incarcerated
Women of reproductive age may experience pregnancy and mothering in a correctional environment designed for men. Rates of incarceration for women in the United States are high by international standards, and they continue to rise. Mothers were often single mothers prior to incarceration, and they are often separated from their children for the first time upon entering prison. Pregnancy, delivery, lactation, and parenting each require special consideration. Outcomes of pregnancy in prison are better overall than for similarly disadvantaged women in the community.
Data on Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes from Prisons and Jails: Results from a Feasibility Study
This report describes the results of a BJS study that assessed the feasibility of collecting data on maternal health and pregnancy outcomes from prisons and jails. It examined the availability and quality of data, the respondent burden, and the challenges of collecting data on the health and health care of pregnant women in custody at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels. BJS will use the findings of this study to help determine the best strategies for implementing national data collections in correctional settings. The study was undertaken in response to the U.S.
A Generational Shift: Race and the Declining Lifetime Risk of Imprisonment
This study makes three primary contributions to a fuller understanding of the contemporary landscape of incarceration in the United States. First, we assess the scope of decarceration. Second, our life table analysis demonstrates marked declines in the lifetime risks of incarceration. Third, decarceration has shifted the institutional experiences of young adulthood. Our results suggest that prison has played a smaller role in the institutional landscape for the most recent generation compared with the generation exposed to the peak of mass incarceration.
Understanding the Landscape of Fines, Restitution, and Fees for Criminal Convictions in Minnesota
When a person is charged and convicted of a criminal offense in Minnesota, a number of consequences flow from that conviction. The person may experience arrest and booking into the county jail. They may have to post bond or bail to gain pretrial release from jail while the case is pending. And if convicted, they may be sentenced to a period of incarceration in prison or jail or they may be ordered to serve a period of time on probation, during which they will have numerous court-ordered conditions to comply with.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2023
This report offers some much-needed clarity by piecing together the data about this country’s disparate systems of confinement. It provides a detailed look at where and why people are locked up in the U.S., and dispels some modern myths to focus attention on the real drivers of mass incarceration and overlooked issues that call for reform.
Countries with the largest number of prisoners per 100,000 of the national population, as of January 2023
The United States is home to the second largest number of prisoners worldwide, only beaten by China. Roughly 1.68 million people were incarcerated in the U.S. in 2023. In China, the estimated prison population totaled to 1.69 million people that year. Other nations had far fewer prisoners. The largest share of the U.S. prisoners in federal correctional facilities were of African-American origin. As of 2020, there were 345,500 black, non-Hispanic prisoners, compared to 327,300 white, non-hispanic inmates. The U.S.
World Prison Brief
The World Prison Brief is an online database providing free access to information on prison systems around the world. It is a unique resource, which supports evidence-based development of prison policy and practice globally.
Labouring behind bars: Assessing international law on working prisoners.
Most people serving a sentence of imprisonment will work while in custody, whether performing domestic or maintenance tasks for the prison, or producing goods or services, usually with the involvement of businesses, charities, or other non-state providers. Under international law, as well as most national legal systems, working prisoners enjoy far fewer legal protections than free workers. They typically receive little or no pay and have little protection against coercion or poor working conditions.