Doctoral Dissertation Research: Social and Economic Consequences of "Minor" Contacts with the Criminal Justice System

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

SES-1436329 Robert Crutchfield April Fernandes University of Washington The rapid and steady increase of incarceration has had substantial consequences on essential life events such as employment, housing and health. While studies have concentrated on the detrimental effects of imprisonment, lower level forms of criminal justice contact can also have a significant impact. The conditions and circumstances that render long-term incarceration influential over the life course are also present for arrests, convictions and jail stays. The separation from society and the stigma that accompanies these less severe forms of contact can hinder the attainment and maintenance of employment and quality housing. The incapacitation from an arrest or jail stay can also affect human and social capital acquisition needed to obtain future employment and housing. The stigma from a criminal or arrest record can inhibit employment and housing prospects due to the ubiquity of background checks for potential employees and tenants. Furthermore, low-level criminal justice contact can affect both physical and mental health outcomes due to the exposure to individuals with communicable diseases, which facilitates the transmission of disease while the stress of incarceration and lack of adequate medical facilities assist in exacerbating existing conditions. Given that the jail population grew in line with prison incarceration during this period, the effects of less severe forms of criminal justice contact should be investigated. The relationship between criminal justice contact and employment and housing are hypothesized to produce detrimental effects, whether from losing a job or a home or inhibiting future prospects. The effect on health, however, is expected to be more complicated; the potential effects of criminal justice contact on health may be ameliorative given the possible benefits of state-mandated health care services available for those incarcerated. However, the effect on mental health is hypothesized to be detrimental given the increased level of stressors present during incarceration. Using the NLSY97 (National Longitudinal Study of Youth, 1997), this project explores employment, housing and physical and mental health outcomes as a result of arrests, convictions and short jail stays. To determine the nature of these relationships, the data will be analyzed using fixed and random effects regression models in Stata. Exploring lower levels of criminal justice contact contributes to the substantial literature on the effects of imprisonment and offers a window into the cumulative impact of less severe forms of contact on the individual and their life prospects. Expanding empirical analysis to these forms of contact can provide a more comprehensive assessment of the potential consequences of criminal justice contact in all of its varied forms and how these effects impact levels of societal stratification. Broader Impacts With the penal expansion of the prison boom, there has been an increase in the number of people who have contact with the system in the form of an arrest, conviction or imprisonment. The potential ramifications of such contact can delay or derail the occupational and social mobility of the populations affected. These outcomes have substantial implications not only for the individual, but their families and communities that are collaterally affected by increased barriers to financial, occupational and physical wellbeing. This research could affect future work in the field and the growing literature centered on the collateral consequences of imprisonment.