189214 Epidemiological Criminology: Linking Public Health, Criminology and Justice Policy

Monday, October 27, 2008: 12:40 PM

Mark M. Lanier, PhD , College of Health and Public Affairs, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
Criminal Justice policies and practice evolve with changing administrative and legal mandates. Furthermore, policy is shaped in response to different historical contingencies, whether cultural, political, or economic in nature. Though justice policies are rarely examined from a public health perspective, the relevance of such a perspective is becoming increasingly apparent. Increasing rates of HIV/AIDS, aging prison populations and substance abuse are just a few of the health issues that are straining and subsequently altering justice policy and practice in the United States. By necessity, public health is becoming highly important as a funding source, for technical expertise, for staffing and for policy-making within American criminal justice institutions. Numerous research reports and funding trends have also documented this health mandated change. This paper highlights two of the more relevant issues: drug use and HIV/AIDS. Explicit theoretical and methodological linkages between the two disciplines regarding these issues are presented.

Learning Objectives:
1. Has Criminal Justice policy (e.g., the “war on drugs”) helped or hurt public health efforts at reducing drug dependency? 2. How has HIV/AIDS changes criminal justice practice? 3. What role has (and should) public health played in shaping CJ policy?

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Extensive experience in organizing, authoring, and presenting on panels of similar nature.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.