Worth the risk? Gun carrying and perceived criminal justice responses in Baltimore

IntroductionPolicing strategies to deter illegal gun carrying by high-risk people are associated with reductions in gun violence. Many factors influence decisions to use or carry a gun in public, but it is unclear whether perceptions of the criminal justice system’s response influence those decisions.MethodsWe used a 2016 cross-sectional survey of criminal justice system-involved men in Baltimore City (n=195) to assess their recent frequency of gun carrying and perceptions of criminal justice system responses.ResultsForty-two per cent of respondents reported carrying a gun at least once; 15% carried a gun at least monthly. Those who carried at least monthly were significantly less likely than others to report that it was likely they would be caught carrying a gun on the street (31% vs 53%).ConclusionsChallenges with holding accountable those who illegally possess or carry guns in public may influence behaviours and perceptions of the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.

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African–Caribbean men remanded to Brixton Prison

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.172.4.337 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 172 (4) ◽

pp. 337-344 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Kamaldeep Bhui ◽

Phillip Brown ◽

Tim Hardie ◽

J. P. Watson ◽

Janet Parrott

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Criminal Justice System ◽

Mentally Ill ◽

Justice System ◽

Substance Misuse ◽

Prison Population ◽

Community Services ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

African Caribbean

BackgroundAfrican–Caribbean men are over-represented in psychiatric and forensic services and in the prison population. A failure of community services to engage mentally ill African–Caribbean men and their presentation through the criminal justice system culminates in a repeated pattern of forensic service and criminal justice system contact.MethodWe carried out a cross-sectional survey during a one-year period of a sample of potentially mentally ill men remanded to HMP Brixton in south London. Men were interviewed to establish their place of birth, first language, socio-demographic profile, ethnicity, psychiatric diagnosis, levels of alcohol and substance misuse, criminality, violence involved in their index offence, past psychiatric and forensic contacts and outcome of court appearance.ResultsTwo hundred and seventy-seven men were interviewed. In comparison with White men, African–Caribbean men were more often diagnosed as having schizophrenia and were more often sent to hospital under a mental health act order. African–Caribbean men were remanded in custody despite more stable housing conditions and more favourable indices of lifetime criminality, substance misuse and violence.ConclusionsCommunity services, including diversion schemes, should be especially sensitive to African–Caribbean men with schizophrenia who ‘fall out of care’, who are not diverted back into care and are therefore unnecessarily remanded.

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4.1 WHO'S RESPONSIBLE? YOUTH GUN VIOLENCE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.jaac.2019.08.241 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 58 (10) ◽

pp. S220

Author(s):

Pooja Shah ◽

Clarence Watson

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Criminal Justice System ◽

Justice System ◽

Gun Violence

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Hepatitis C antibody reactivity among high-risk rural women: opportunities for services and treatment in the criminal justice system

International Journal of Prisoner Health ◽

10.1108/ijph-03-2017-0012 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 89-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Justin C. Strickland ◽

Michele Staton ◽

Carl G. Leukefeld ◽

Carrie B. Oser ◽

J. Matthew Webster

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C ◽

Criminal Justice ◽

High Risk ◽

Drug Use ◽

Criminal Justice System ◽

Rural Women ◽

Justice System ◽

Content Type ◽

Antibody Reactivity ◽

Hcv Antibody

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the drug use and criminal justice factors related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody reactivity among rural women in the USA recruited from local jails. Design/methodology/approach Analyses included 277 women with a history of injection drug use from three rural jails in Kentucky. Participants completed health and drug use questionnaires and received antibody testing for HCV. Findings The majority of women tested reactive to the HCV antibody (69 percent). Reactivity was associated with risk factors, such as unsterile needle use. Criminal justice variables, including an increased likelihood of prison incarceration, an earlier age of first arrest, and a longer incarceration history, were associated with HCV reactive tests. Participants also endorsed several barriers to seeking healthcare before entering jail that were more prevalent in women testing HCV reactive regardless of HCV status awareness before entering jail. Originality/value Injection and high-risk sharing practices as well as criminal justice factors were significantly associated with HCV reactivity. Future research and practice could focus on opportunities for linkages to HCV treatment during incarceration as well as during community re-entry to help overcome real or perceived treatment barriers. The current study highlights the importance of the criminal justice system as a non-traditional, real-world setting to examine drug use and related health consequences such as HCV by describing the association of high-risk drug use and criminal justice consequences with HCV among rural women recruited from local jails.

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