New Research on the Use and Impacts of Restrictive Housing

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

This session includes five papers on emergent research on restrictive housing use in jails and prisons and the attendant impacts of restrictive housing on both inmates and officers. The first two papers (Cochran and Wooldredge and Mears and colleagues) provide initial findings from two National Institute of Justice-funded statewide research projects examining the use and impacts of restrictive housing in Ohio and Florida, respectively. The third paper (Tasca and Turanovic) examines the extent to which disparities emerge in prison system decisions to place inmates and the duration of placement in restrictive housing. The fourth paper (Wright and Hepburn) shifts focus to health outcomes and examines how living and working in restrictive housing units may impact the health of inmates and prison staff. The fifth paper (Digard and colleagues) provides findings from a multi-institution assessment of restrictive housing use and the resulting recommendations for policy and practice.

Sub Unit

• Area VII. Criminal Justice Policy and Practice / 34. Corrections

Individual Presentations

• Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Variation in the Use of Restrictive Housing across Ohio Prisons - Joshua C. Cochran, University of Cincinnati; John Wooldredge, University of Cincinnati

• Exploring the Goals, Uses, and Impacts of Restrictive Housing - Daniel Mears, Florida State University; William D Bales, Florida State University; George Pesta, Florida State University

• An Examination of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Men’s Restrictive Housing Placements - Melinda Tasca, Sam Houston State University; Jillian Turanovic, Florida State University

• Living and Working in Restrictive Housing in Arizona - Kevin Wright, Arizona State University; John R. Hrpburn, Arizona State University

• Findings and Recommendations on the use of Segregation in Five Departments of Corrections - Léon Digard, Vera Institute of Justice; Elena Vanko, Vera Institute of Justice; Sara Sullivan, Vera Institute of Justice

Chair

• Joshua C. Cochran, University of Cincinnati