Angela S. Murolo – författare

Analyses of crime and justice in an unprecedented timeWhile COVID-19 lockdowns affected nearly everyone worldwide, feelings of anxiety and fear were exacerbated for those already entangled in the criminal justice system. Scholars recognized the unique opportunity to study crime and the justice system’s response during this period, though they soon realized that determining the pandemic’s effects would be a complicated, nuanced process.Crime, Corrections, and the COVID-19 Pandemic features analyses and findings from more than thirty contributors in eleven essays. The collection examines the multifaceted social, economic, cultural, legislative, and policy responses to COVID-19 and their impacts on crime and justice. It also explores how professionals across the criminal justice system—police officers, campus police officers, attorneys, judges, correctional staff, and community supervision agents—adapted to unprecedented challenges.The book provides real-world evidence of how unconventional solutions and groundbreaking practices were implemented in response to a global crisis. Contributors analyze how incarcerated individuals, their families, and their supervisors dealt with the fear of transmission, medical care, and death. Their findings, which are necessarily dependent on timing, place, measurement, and operationalization, include both change and stasis, both negative and positive outcomes. For instance, while minor and property-related offenses initially declined, violent crimes like homicide and intimate partner violence increased. Drug usage patterns changed, leading to a rise in opioid overdoses, and despite the rise in digital interactions, there was no significant difference in self-reported cybervictimization. Furthermore, rates of gang-related crimes did not decrease. Policy and public health responses reshaped criminal activities, influencing the methods and motivations behind theft, child and elder abuse, and other offenses. This volume includes in-depth examinations of certain often-overlooked crimes, such as labor trafficking, and provides direct insights into the job challenges faced by criminal justice professionals, from probation personnel to labor rights advocates.Emerging innovations in health risk management within correctional facilities led to increased awareness and focus on specific types of crime. Responses to the pandemic revealed significant challenges, such as burnout among justice system personnel, difficulties in adapting and innovating, and challenges in providing services to vulnerable populations.Through diverse perspectives and empirical approaches ranging from advanced statistical analysis to qualitative interviews, Crime, Corrections, and the COVID-19 Pandemic offers a comprehensive exploration of the complexities that affect research results. It showcases the resilience and innovation within the criminal justice field and details the challenges professionals in this area tackled during a universally trying time, presenting valuable lessons for future crises.

Analyzes the challenges aging populations face when leaving prisonAn increasing proportion of people in prison are over 50 years old, with projections indicating that by 2030, 30% of people in prison will be over 50. Because 95% of people in prison return home, a greater proportion of them will be of advanced age. When returning home, older people have lower rates of recidivism compared to their younger counterparts. However, there are challenges that make their reentry particularly difficult, including the possibility of illness and untreated mental health or substance abuse issues, obtaining employment and stable housing at an advanced age, and broken family ties.Through the lens of redeemability and reintegrative shaming, Aging on Parole examines the needs of people leaving prison in New Jersey and New York, with a focus on people over 50 years old. Through interviews with people on parole, Murolo introduces the importance of successful aging and how the challenges of reentry make that possibility difficult. Moving beyond purely correctional or reentry challenges, this book explores what life satisfaction or well-being means for older people returning from prison.By sharing the stories of the aging parolees' economic and housing struggles, challenges rebuilding family relationships, and health challenges, Murolo creates a deeper understanding of this growing population. The book also provides recommendations, including age-relevant programming and services to improve reentry outcomes, that provide insight into ways older people can find life satisfaction after parole.

The Dark Side of Reform: Exploring the Impact of Public Policy on Racial Equity contains nine chapters on the development of social policies with the potential to advance racial equity. In addition to studying these policies and their implications, the chapters in this volume demonstrate how lessons from the past can be used to inform the direction of current discussions. At the heart of these conversations are concerns about whether Black people, in particular, will receive the full benefit of transformative laws that may emerge in the coming years. The volume also offers recommendations on implementing policies that address the unique concerns of structurally disadvantaged communities with particular emphasis on Black and Latinx people.