Fewer than half of inmates in jails and prisons surveyed in a study by the CDC and University of Washington said they would accept a COVID-19 vaccine, while the majority either said they wanted to wait before getting the vaccine or would refuse one.
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Between 2015 and 2017, Seattle, Washington, became the first U.S. city to increase its hourly minimum wage to $15, more than double the federal minimum wage and 60 percent higher than Seattle s previous minimum wage. A new study examined the impact of this change on public safety. The study was motivated by the idea that since crime is sometimes the result of material deprivation, changes in the minimum wage might have implications for criminal activity: Boosting the minimum wage could raise workers salaries (which could be associated with reduced crime). But if higher minimum wages spur employers to substitute capital for labor, this could increase unemployment (which could be associated with increased crime). The study found little evidence that Seattle s aggregate rate of violent or property crimes changed relative to other U.S. cities. It also found no meaningful adverse effects on low-wage workers rates of employment.
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The U.S. criminal legal system has expanded at a rapid pace, even as crime rates have declined since the 1990s. As a result, individuals interactions with and surveillance by law enforcement are now commonplace. But citizens experience different interactions, with people of color who live in impoverished urban communities having the most frequent encounters. A new study interviewed young Philadelphia men to determine their perceptions of and reactions to this phenomenon. Nearly all of the men of color said they stayed at home and avoided public spaces out of concern over the potential interactions with others that might draw police attention.
A new analysis explores the effects of these changes on use. The analysis concludes that sharp declines in production costs for cannabis and opioids could dramatically reduce the price per dose for consumers in ways that alter patterns of use and dependence.
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Past studies on whether incarcerated people with mental illness are more likely to be placed in solitary confinement have yielded mixed results. A new study examined the issue in one state s prisons, taking into account factors related to incarcerated men and the facilities where they were imprisoned. It found that having a mental illness was associated with a significant increase in the likelihood of being placed in extended solitary confinement.
The study, by researchers at Florida State University (FSU), appears in
Justice Quarterly, a publication of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Our findings provide new information on how mental illness shapes experiences for incarcerated men, and more broadly, on how the criminal justice system responds to people with mental illness, explains Sonja Siennick, professor of criminology and criminal justice at FSU, who led the study. The bottom line is that incarcerated people with mental illness appear to garner differe