Guest editorial

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-01-2017-0002
• Published date: 13 March 2017
• Date: 13 March 2017
• Pages: 1-2
• Author: Cyrus Ahalt,Brie Williams
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice

Cyrus Ahalt and Brie Williams

Amassing the evidence for a health-first approach to criminal justice reform

Across much of the world, nations are reconciling the unintended consequences of a

decades-long trend in criminal justice that has greatly expanded the reach of the penal state by

criminalizing behaviors arising out of treatable medical conditions and favoring punishment –and

often severe punishment –over rehabilitation as the primary product of justice. In view

of that recent history, criminal justice reform has emerged in many jurisdictions and

nations –alongside climate change and poverty reduction –as a critical consensus priority

area for the twenty-first century.

As these reform efforts mature, there is an increasing –and increasingly important –

acknowledgment of the central role that health plays in criminal justice systems. Too often, as

with substance use disorders and mental illness, untreated health conditions are at the root of

criminal justice involvement. Too often, as with under-resourced correctional health agencies and

the widespread use of long-term solitary confinement, criminal justice systems impose an undue

health burden on those under its supervision. Too often, the health deficits that accrue to the

justice-involved are left unattended to the great detriment of families, communities, labor markets,

and community health and social welfare systems. Many criminal justice systems around the

world–inc ludingsystems of community supervision –have for too long missed a vital opportunity to

improve the health of people who experience poor access to care in the community. This story –the

deep and often lasting intersection between criminal justice involvement and health –is as old as

modernsystems of justice.Now, a growing numberof criminal justiceand health organizations–not

just an exceptional few –are embarking on concerted partnerships to ensure that those who enter

the criminal justice system leave it in better health than when they arrived.

This special issue of the International Journal of Prisoner Health aims to advance this effort,

however modestly, by drawing attention to opportunities where a health-based approach to

reform has the potential to improve health and criminal justice outcomes for justice-involved

individuals. As such, this special issue is not dedicated to the publication of original research, but

rather to articles that describe the current state of evidence in a handful of crucial areas and

outline some specific steps that criminal justice and health professionals might take to turn that

evidence into action. The first article in this issue describes how a human rights framework can

help move criminal justice policy toward valuing the health of those in the system. We then turn to

seven additional articles that concentrate specifically on correctional health policy for select

justice-involved populations –women, those with serious mental illness and/or substance use

disorders, transgender individuals, those in long-term solitary confinement, children, and older

adults –highlighting both the need and the opportunity to advance health for those whose

criminal justice involvement poses particular risks. A complementary special issue of this journal

focused on treatment models and treatment-based programming in criminal justice systems is

forthcoming later this year.

Many of the articles in this special issue have been developed over the course of a two-year

project funded by the University of California Office of the President to support increased

collaboration among UC faculty and students working at the intersection of criminal justice and

health from the vantage of over 20 different academic disciplines. As a result, half of these articles

arose out of an abiding effort on the part of academics to improve the state of health care for

criminal justice-involved populations in California. But in each case, authors have taken care to

consider –and adapt –the situation in California for application globally. These articles have been

joined by an equal number from correctional leaders, policymakers and academics outside of the

Cyrus Ahalt is based at the

University of California,

San Francisco, San Francisco,

California, USA.

Brie Williams is a Professor at

the University of California,

San Francisco, San Francisco,

California, USA.

DOI 10.1108/IJPH-01-2017-0002 VOL. 13 NO. 1 2017, pp. 1-2, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200

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INTERNATIONALJOURNAL OF PRISONER HEALTH

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Guest editorial