Correctional services during and beyond COVID-19

Correctional services, both institutional and within the community, are impacted by COVID-19. In the current paper, we focus on the current situation and examine the tensions around how COVID-19 has introduced new challenges while also exacerbating strains on the correctional system. Here, we make recommendations that are directly aimed at how correctional systems manage COVID-19 and address the nature and structure of correctional systems that should be continued after the pandemic. In addition, we highlight and make recommendations for the needs of those who remain incarcerated in general, and for Indigenous people in particular, as well as for those who are serving their sentences in the community. Further, we make recommendations for those working in closed-custody institutions and employed to support the re-entry experiences of formerly incarcerated persons. We are at a critical juncture—where reflection and change are possible—and we put forth recommendations toward supporting those working and living in correctional services as a way forward during the pandemic and beyond.

Risk of Overdose-Related Death for People with A History of Incarceration

IntroductionEpidemiologic studies have shown that people released from correctional facilities are at substantially increased risk of overdose-related death compared with the general population. However, the reported effect estimates are substantially heterogeneous, and the previous studies have important limitations in relative risk assessment for overdose-related death. Objectives and ApproachBritish Columbia, Canada, has experienced an unprecedented epidemic of drug overdose, this study aimed to investigate how the overdose epidemic has affected formerly incarcerated persons. A 20% random sample of residents aged 18 years or older in British Columbia was used to conduct this cohort study. During the 5-year exposure period (January 2010 to December 2014), persons with an incarceration history were identified using provincial incarceration records. During the 3-year follow-up period (January 2015 to December 2017), overdose-related deaths were identified using linked administrative health data. Risk of overdose-related death was compared between persons who did and did not have an incarceration history using a Cox regression model. ResultsOf 765,690 persons in the cohort, 5,743 had an incarceration history during the exposure period, and 634 died from drug overdose during the follow-up period. The mortality rate was 832 and 22 per 100,000 person-years for persons who did and did not have an incarceration history, respectively. Compared with persons without an incarceration history, and adjusting for individual and neighbourhood characteristics, persons who had an incarceration history were 3.67 times (95% confidence interval 2.93 - 4.59) more likely to die from drug overdose. This association was stronger for females, persons who did not have substance use disorder, and persons who were not dispensed opioids for pain or benzodiazepines. Conclusion/ImplicationsPrevious incarceration is strongly associated with risk of overdose-related death. Specific interventions are needed to better prevent drug overdose for people released from incarceration.

Does Thinking of Oneself as a “Typical Former Prisoner” Contribute to Reentry Success or Failure?

Research findings indicate that persisters and desisters from crime differ in how they view themselves (i.e., social identity) and in their optimism in the ability to “go straight.” This chapter examines formerly incarcerated persons’ level of agreement with the statement “I am a typical former prisoner.” The sample consists of 228 formerly incarcerated persons involved as clients at agencies providing reintegration-related services. The relationship between thinking of oneself as a typical former prisoner and a variety of variables previously found to be related to desistance from crime and/or successful reintegration (e.g., age, sex, criminal history, criminal attitude, social bonds, perceptions of stigma, psychological well-being, and forecasts of re-arrest) are examined using correlation analysis and regression analysis. Implications of the findings for desistance from crime and prisoner reentry research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Defining "Success" in Corrections and Reentry

Defining what exactly constitutes successful reentry into society is challenging. Is abstaining from criminal behavior enough to be considered a success? Or does a successful reentry imply more than desistance from crime, for example, the ability to live independently—without receiving substantial support from family or the government? What about those formerly incarcerated persons who desist for a significant period of time and then relapse unexpectedly? Should they be defined by their momentary failure? Research suggests that formerly incarcerated persons have a wide range of social welfare needs such as substance abuse problems, housing insecurity, and prolonged unemployment. Recent studies therefore conclude that reentry cannot be measured easily as a binary concept. Reentry, many contemporary criminologists argue, is a complex process marked by cycles of success and failure. By integrating concepts such as individual agency and identity formation, criminologists and sociologists have developed a more nuanced understanding of reentry processes. Qualitative research in particular challenges a dichotomous understanding of recidivism and desistance, emphasizing that reentering society after prison is a process marked by setbacks. In those studies, success or failure are not definitive verdicts, but rather momentary snapshots of pathways whose outcome remain uncertain.

Afterword

In this afterword, I consider some of the important insights that are generated in this special issue. The thorough and detailed consideration of the ways in which detainees and formerly incarcerated persons survive confinement and the constraints imposed on them illustrates the power of ethnography. Each of the contributions builds on strong empirical material and sometimes decade-long engagement with people in and on the brink of confining institutions. In this way, the contributions form a comprehensive empirical foundation for understanding confinement beyond the carceral institutions, while also allowing us to ask new kinds of questions about confinement beyond site. While firmly rooted in prison ethnography, the special issue thus inspires urban studies and anthropologists more broadly to think concertedly about the role of confinement, not only as the fate of many urban residents but as an ever-present element of the urban imaginary and of urban life.

Fostering spiritual resilience and vitality in formerly incarcerated persons of African American descent

The process of reentry for formerly incarcerated persons can be a burdensome, stigma-laden transition, and any difficult transition requires resilience. African Americans—the group most impacted by incarceration trauma—commonly depend on faith leaders in times of crisis to provide meaning, encouragement, and guidance, fostering spiritual resilience. This study conceptualizes spiritual resilience and proposes it as a vital quality for successful reentry; giving credence to the significant role clergy and pastoral clinicians play in mediating restorative reintegration.

Food Insecurity Among Formerly Incarcerated Adults

The purpose of this study is to further the understanding of the hardships faced by formerly incarcerated individuals by investigating the association between prior incarceration and postrelease food insecurity. Drawing on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), our findings demonstrate that a history of incarceration is associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing food insecurity. This association is found to partially operate through household income, depressive symptoms, marital status, and social isolation. Given the importance of food insecurity in predicting future health outcomes and nutritional behavior, food insecurity may be an important factor in driving health disparities among formerly incarcerated persons.

Employers and the Reintegration of Formerly Incarcerated Persons

In this initial submission, I argue for the importance of management researchers pursuing scholarly inquiry and research on the topic of employer reintegration of the formerly incarcerated. Around the world, there is growing political and social interest in criminal justice reform and rising expectations for businesses to respond to these changes. While criminologists have documented significant barriers contributing to employer resistance to hiring the formerly incarcerated, far less attention has been paid to employer hiring and retention of formerly incarcerated individuals. I suggest some possibilities for how understanding the dynamics and implications of employer hiring and retention of formerly incarcerated individuals can generate new conceptual and empirical insights of academic and practical relevance.