Psychological assessment of risk in a county jail: implications for reentry, recidivism and detention practices in the USA

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-11-2019-051
Pages173-186
Date04 November 2019
Published date04 November 2019
AuthorBryanna Fox,Edelyn Verona,Lauren Fournier
Subject MatterHealth & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Criminal psychology,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Deviant behaviour,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice
Bryanna Fox, Edelyn Verona and Lauren Fournier
Psychological assessment of risk in a county jail: implications for reentry,
recidivism and detention practices in the USA
Jail detention rates and challenges
Each year, more than 12m Americans are booked into local jails for crimes ranging from
misdemeanor traffic violations to felony serial homicide, with more than 740,000 people held in
these facilities in the USA at any given time (Turney and Conner, 2019; Zeng, 2018). By
comparison, about 575,000 individuals are admitted to state prisons in the USA every year
(Minton and Zeng, 2015). Across the country, jail incarceration rates have increased over the
past few decades, with considerable growth occurring in rural and suburban areas (Henrichson
and Fishman, 2017; Zeng, 2018). As a secondary challenge, jails, unlike prisons, house those
serving sentences less than a year or awaiting trial, and therefore most jail inmates face quicker
reentry and the challenges it may present (Petersilia, 2001; Zeng, 2018). As such, the rate of jail
re-incarceration is substantially elevated, even compared to prison populations (Williams et al.,
2010). This has led many jails to seem to have a revolving door(Baillargeon et al., 2009), often
with very high turnover rates (Zeng, 2018). Therefore, the gains to be made from evidence-based
policies that reduce incarceration, improve reentry planning and stem recidivism are especially
large when focusing on jail populations. There are several key issues that contribute to current
problems of jail overcrowding, detention rates and recidivism that can be targeted in research
and policy.
First, the increase in incarceration rates across the USA is due, in large part, to longer pre-trial
detentions ( Jones, 2013; Rabuy and Kopf, 2016; Subramanian et al., 2015; Turney and Conner,
2019). That is, despite a consistent and significant drop in crime across the USA, 95 percent of
the increase in jail incarceration rates since 2000 was due to the sizable growth in the number of
individuals in jail awaiting trial, many unable to pay bail (Minton and Zeng, 2015). In fact, analyses
by the US Department of Justice revealed that 47 percent of all those in jail with a financial bond
were unable to afford their bail (Reaves, 2013). This often results in jail overcrowding and
almost no commensurate increase in public safety ( Jones, 2013; Pinto, 2015; Sullivan, 2010).
The length of pre-trial detention is also linked to recidivism risk. Multiple studies have found that
the longer persons are detained in jail, the more likely it is that they will receive a harsher sentence
(Gupta et al., 2016); experience lasting psychological impact[1] (Sugie and Turney, 2017); lose
housing, employment and prospects in the labor market (Dobbie et al., 2018; Freudenberg et al.,
2005); and reenter the justice system post-release (Aiken, 2017; Lowenkamp et al., 2013;
Subramanian et al., 2015).
Second, jails now detain a large number of persons with mental illness, substance abuse and
neurodisability (e.g. brain injury, cognitive decline), compared to rates in the general population
(Irwin, 2013; Mulvey and Schubert, 2017; Sarteschi, 2013; Silver et al., 2001). Indeed, the
hospital deinstitutionalization that transpired in the USA since the 1960s has led correctional
facilities, most notably short-term detention centers (i.e. jails), to encounter a substantially larger
proportion of individuals with psychological and emotional problems, cognitive disabilities,
substance use and co-occurring disorders than ever before. In fact, over half of those in US
jails have been diagnosed with or have shown symptoms of a mental illness within the past
12 months ( James and Glaze, 2006; Trestman et al., 2007), and over 75 percent of those
have co-occurring substance use disorders. An additional 26 percent showed symptoms of
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Bronson and Berzofsky, 2017), and up to 87 percent of
The authors would like to thank
the Pasco Sheriffs Office,
including Sherriff Chris Nocco,
Major Jeff Peake, Major Stacey
Jenkins, Captain Justin
Wetherington and Lieutenant
Warren Jones, for their
collaboration and partnership, and
thanks to the dozens of research
assistants who helped collect data
on the Psychological Assessment
of Risk and Criminality study.
Bryanna Fox is based at the
Department of Criminology,
University of South Florida,
Sarasota, Florida, USA.
Edelyn Verona and
Lauren Fournier are both based
at the Department of
Psychology, University of
South Florida, Sarasota,
Florida, USA.
DOI 10.1108/JCP-11-2019-051 VOL. 9 NO. 4 2019, pp. 173-186, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2009-3829
j
JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY
j
PAG E 1 7 3
Research Report

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