Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

Mentally Ill Offenders

Audio Link: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=263461940&m=264250041

This story documents the significant rate of mentally inmates in U.S. jails, including in Cook County Jail, Ill.

1. What does this story reveal about the relationship between mental illness, offending, and jail population cycles?
2. What measures can be taken, both within correctional agencies and at a public policy level, to better meet the needs of people with mental illness?
3. How might better addressing the needs of mentally ill people affect crime rates and correctional populations?

Basic Sex Offender Management
Web Link:  http://abcnews.go.com/US/prison-living-hell-pedophiles/story?id=90004

This news report documents the brutal realities of life in prison for child molesters.

1. How are child molesters targeted in prison?
2. How can correctional facilities provide protections against inmate abuse?

Safety, Security, and Assistance for LGBTI Inmates
Web Link:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/09/opinion/prisons-and-jails-put-transgender-inmates-at-risk.html  

This New York Times Editorial discusses the challenges transgender inmates face in the criminal justice system.

1. What are particular challenges that transgender inmates face in the criminal justice system?
2. What measures can be taken, both within correctional agencies and at a public policy level, to improve protections for LGBTI inmates? 

Elderly Offenders
Video Link:  http://news10.com/2015/11/03/elderly-prisoners-up-250-percent-should-they-be-released-to-save-money-2/

This local news report discusses the growing elderly population in prisons and how recently criminal justice reform efforts might impact this population.

1. What factors contribute to the growing elderly population in prisons?
2. What are current reform efforts regarding the elderly inmate population?