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Abstract: 

Major public health crises, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, often expose gaps in public health policies and practices that suggest opportunities for improvement within the criminal justice system. The risks associated with infectious diseases to both clients and staff within correctional programs, combined with existing evidence that health issues among justice-involved individuals likely affect reentry and recidivism, suggest that elevation of health needs within correctional treatment and supervision paradigms may be warranted. Although there is not yet sufficient empirical evidence to say that medical needs qualify as criminogenic needs, the evidence suggesting that medical needs are likely an important responsivity consideration for recidivism reduction efforts leads some researchers to call for more formal health-informed criminal justice policies and services.

Keywords: Community corrections, inmate health and recidivism, comorbid health conditions, RNR principle, public health

Affiliations:  1: Talbert House Center for Health and Human Services Research.