Handbook on Contemporary Issues in Health, Crime and Punishment

The Handbook on Contemporary Issues in Health, Crime, and Punishment covers many topics on the numerous ways in which mental and physical health and criminal justice system contact influence one another and are intricately intertwined. These often mutually reinforcing dynamics affect a range of health and justice outcomes at individual, familial, group, community, and national levels. Contributions detail this topic from a wide range of disciplinary, theoretical, and international perspectives and rely on various analytical lenses, including quantitative, qualitative, policy-analytic, theoretical/conceptual, and lived experiences.

The chapters summarize what is known in each topical area, but as important, they identify emerging theoretical, empirical, and policy directions. In this way, the book is grounded in the current knowledge about the specific topic, but also provides new, synthesizing material that reflects the knowledge of the leading minds in the field. Conceptually divided into 11 sections, a number of contributions describe the unique experiences of women, people of color, juveniles, older populations, immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other sub-populations (i.e., people convicted of drug or sex offenses). Where appropriate, the authors provide both big picture and pragmatic policy directions aimed at reducing system contact, health challenges, and inhumane practices.

Given its breadth and depth, the Handbook will appeal broadly to academics, practitioners, policymakers, advocates, and students seeking to understand the many ways in which health and justice system dynamics overlap.

Nathan W. Link is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, Camden. Link researches and writes about issues and barriers faced by those experiencing incarceration, prison reentry, and other forms of community control. Much of his recent work examines financial sanctions, health, and reintegration dynamics among people leaving custodial sentences. With a focus on policy, much of his current fieldwork is aimed at understanding how systems function and attempting to create more humane and equitable processes and outcomes.

Meghan A. Novisky is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology and Sociology at Cleveland State University. Her research investigates conditions of confinement, health-related impacts of and experiences with incarceration, and criminal justice policy and practice. She is a multi-methods scholar with expertise in original data collection and qualitative methodology.

Chantal Fahmy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research focuses on reentry and reintegration from prison, health criminology, and the intersection of public health and incarceration. Her work explores linkages between criminal justice system contact and how those interactions affect various facets of health (e.g., mental health, social health).