America’s Mass Incarceration in 2025: A Threat to Public Health and Safety

“Doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results is often cited as the definition of insanity. By that measure, then, America’s approach to solving crime is as insane as it gets.” 

Three years later, this stark assessment from a 2022 Teen Vogue article by Olayemi Olurin remains frustratingly true. Despite mounting evidence of its struggles, the United States continues to double down on mass incarceration, while expecting different outcomes. Hence, our textbook definition of insanity has now evolved into something far more dangerous: a full-blown public health crisis. 

The scope of this crisis has become impossible to ignore. Mass incarceration doesn’t just harm nearly 2 million convicts, but it creates rippling effects damaging communities, families, and even our own well-being. Vera Institute reveals that each year spent in prisons leads to a two-year decline in life expectancy. Meanwhile, relatives of incarcerated loved ones have increased risks of hypertension, diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes. If a family has multiple members incarcerated, the toll on their health is more severe, with a 4.6-year reduction in their life expectancy (Dholakia, 2025). 

Perhaps, the most devastating effect is the impact on children. Studies, as stated by Vera, show how parental incarceration is more detrimental to children’s physical and behavioral health compared to divorce or a parent’s death. These children face increased risks of mental health conditions and substance use disorders, which continue into adulthood. It is clear that the long-lasting negative effects of parental incarceration on children’s well-being underscore the critical need for interventions and support systems designed to mitigate this severe form of childhood adversity. 

Yet, the public health implications extend far beyond individual families. Communities with high imprisonment rates experience elevated rates of anxiety, depression, and other health issues. Mass incarceration degrades social ties and increases chronic stress, creating what researchers describe as neighborhood-level health damage.  For example, the COVID-19 pandemic accurately illustrated this reality. Jails and prisons became breeding grounds for the virus, with infection rates eventually spilling into surrounding communities. Even correctional staff suffer the consequences of our broken system: the second highest rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after U.S. war veterans, double the suicide rates compared to police officers. Not to mention, low pay, insufficient training, and harsh working conditions make hiring and retention nearly impossible, further degrading conditions for everyone involved. 

The numbers paint a damning picture of systemic failure. Despite an estimated annual spending of  $300 billion on policing and prisons, police solve only 2% of all major crimes. More than 80% of arrests are for misdemeanors and nonviolent offenses, yet we continue warehousing people in conditions that virtually guarantee their return to the same struggling communities that failed them initially, if not continually. Nearly 60% of the incarcerated population is represented by Latino and Black communities (Olurin, 2022). Although these communities represent a much smaller percentage of the American general population, the racial disparities in the criminal justice system mirror the racial disparities in health. Thus, creating a perpetual cycle of harm for different generations. 

The research is equivocal, but how do the things that happen within jail cells and prison walls affect us all? A system designed to keep us safe is taking a toll on our public health and security. Thus far, we are neither safe nor healthier thanks to mass incarceration. Effectively, the use of a retributionist prevention system through mass incarceration isn’t just morally bankrupt. It is a public health disaster, undermining the very safety and well-being it claims to protect. Continuing to expect different results from the same failed approach is not only insane, it is unconscionable. Our collective health must depend on choosing a different path forward. 

Works Cited 

Craig, Miltonette Olivia, et al. “Incarcerated in a Pandemic: How COVID-19 Exacerbated the ‘Pains of Imprisonment.’” Criminal Justice Review, SAGE Publications, 27 July 2023, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10375228.

Dholakia, Nazish. “Mass Incarceration Is a Public Health Crisis.” Vera Institute of Justice, 17 June 2025, https://www.vera.org/news/mass-incarceration-is-a-public-health-crisis.

Olurin, Olayemi. “Mass Incarceration Is a Cruel, Expensive, Ineffective Approach to Addressing Crime.” Teen Vogue, 21 Dec. 2022, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/mass-incarceration-expensive-cruel.