From Researcher Amy Shang of Pretrial Justice Institute:
We live in the United States of Arrest-ica. Someone is arrested every three seconds, usually for a low-level offense. That adds up to over 10 million arrests that need to be processed.
Arrest is a traumatizing experience. Arrest involves a physical search and restriction of a person’s body, fear, and powerlessness. Data from a longitudinal study of youth found that arrest itself accounted for half of the poor mental health and the negative consequences associated with incarceration.
We chronically arrest people for problems not solved by jail. More than 1 in 4 people who are arrested each year are arrested multiple times, according to the Prison Policy Institute. These are usually people of color and people who are impoverished, who have issues related to mental illness and substance use. Continue reading >>>
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