The relationship between community public health, behavioral health service accessibility, and mass incarceration

Ramezani, N., Breno, A.J., Mackey, B.J. et al. The relationship between community public health, behavioral health service accessibility, and mass incarceration. BMC Health Serv Res 22, 966 (2022). 

The relationship between healthcare service accessibility in the community and incarceration is an important, yet not widely understood, phenomenon. Community behavioral health and the criminal legal systems are treated separately, which creates a competing demand to confront mass incarceration and expand available services. As a result, the relationship between behavioral health services, demographics and community factors, and incarceration rate has not been well addressed. Understanding potential drivers of incarceration, including access to community-based services, is necessary to reduce entry into the legal system and decrease recidivism. This study identifies county-level demographic, socioeconomic, healthcare services availability/accessibility, and criminal legal characteristics that predict per capita jail population across the U.S. More than 10 million individuals pass through U.S. jails each year, increasing the urgency of addressing this challenge.

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