Public Health and Safety
The United States maintains the largest incarcerated population in the world, with over 1.8 million individuals held in federal, state, and local facilities. In Illinois, there are about 150,000 individuals involved in the criminal justice system, including those on probation or parole. Although recent reforms have slowed incarceration rates, arrests remain high for survival crimes and nonviolent offenses, particularly drug-related offenses. Incarceration is often accompanied by serious challenges, including poor physical health, an increased risk of relapse among individuals with substance use disorders, and other adverse outcomes.
Through our criminal legal portfolio, the University of Chicago Health Lab seeks to improve the overall well-being of incarcerated individuals and returning citizens by: 1) conducting rigorous studies to understand the current health challenges faced by individuals involved in the carceral system and designing strategies to promote a continuum of care post-release; 2) designing and implementing interventions such as Reducing Opioid Mortality in Illinois. Health Lab works at the forefront of the field, developing and evaluating innovative new interventions to inform changes in our country’s criminal justice system.
Projects:
- Reducing Opioid Mortality in Illinois
- The Supportive Release Center
- Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) Pilot Evaluation
- Washtenaw County Co-Response Unit (CRU) Pilot Evaluation
- Intellectual and developmental disability services and crisis response
- State Criminal Jurisdiction on Tribal Lands and Drug-Related Mortality
Transform911
Our nation’s 911 system—comprising over 8,500 fragmented and under-resourced Emergency Communications Centers (ECCs)—fields approximately 240 million calls annually. 911 is regularly called upon to address a wide array of issues, ranging from violence to mental health crises, noise complaints, requests for information, and more. Despite the key role that 911 plays in emergency crisis response, it faces many system-wide challenges, including significant staffing shortages, escalating call volumes, and the fact that national 911 data are not collected in a routinized and standardized way. These systemic challenges increase the risk of negative outcomes for communities—particularly communities of color—including delayed care and dispatch of inappropriate and in some instances harmful responses.
Projects:
