The Dangers of Disruption: A Social Worker’s Notes on Jails, (Slow) Death, and Institutional Cycling

• In Event: Criminal Justice Involvement as Disruption

Abstract

More than 11 million people, many of whom are sick and insecurely housed, annually cycle between confinement and their place of shelter for the evening, spending hours to days in one of the nation’s 3,148 local county jails. Yet, little is known about their experiences, or the impact of the repeated arrests and short-term confinement on their health and wellbeing, psychological outlook, or their ability to access social service support. This paper is based on field work examining the post incarceration experiences of inmates released from a detention center in Detroit. We find that repeated arrests and subsequent short term periods of confinement not only disrupt the social lives of the criminalized poor, making it virtually impossible for them to hold down jobs, connect with their families or achieve personal milestones, but that it negatively affects their health and wellbeing. These effects range from increased health issues to an exacerbation in existing symptoms of paranoia and distrust of state officials. In this way, repeated incarcerations are not only disruptive, but in many ways, life threatening in the short and long term. We discuss the implications of this slow violence, and the life threatening impacts of carceral expansion for the hyper-marginalized.

Authors

• Reuben J. Miller, University of Michigan

• Elizabeth Kita, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Adult Parole Operations