The U.S. carceral system operates at such a remove from most of society that the size of the system – and the myths it perpetuates – can come as a surprise, if not a shock.
With a daily jail population of almost 2 million and about 3 million people under community supervision – more commonly known as probation and parole – the nation’s carceral system is enormous in scale. Taken together, the U.S. incarcerated population and those on probation is more than the populations of 26 individual states, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico.
With such a large population, tracking the impacts to individual and community health with those in the carceral system is an important part of the research of Katherine LeMasters, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
“People think of our incarcerated population as a small, closed-off population,” LeMasters said. “That’s not the case, and everyone in health, medicine, and public health needs to consider how their studies do or do not include this population and what voices they’re hearing.”
In the following Q&A, LeMasters dispels five common myths surrounding the healthcare of incarcerated populations and those impacted by the carceral system.