HS 346B — Policy Perspectives on Criminal Legal System Disparities

Provides an overview of relevant policies and issues in the United States criminal legal system impacting incarceration and outcomes. Students will study topics pertaining to disparities in policing and court procedural policies and practices, access to behavioral health services and diversion programs, and community re-entry and outcomes. We will examine the mechanisms by which the criminal legal and the behavioral health treatment systems interact and disparities are maintained or exacerbated. We will explore how race, ethnicity, gender, social class, sexual orientation, age and their interactions influence criminal legal system involvement. We will also examine factors associated with the overrepresentation of minority and disenfranchised groups among our jail and prison population, and review programs and policies implemented to increase successful community reentry and reduce recidivism. Usually offered every second year.