HIV in the Epicenter of the Epicenter: HIV and Drug Use Among Criminal Justice Populations in New York City, 1980–2007

Abstract

During the 1990s, some of the highest rates of HIV infection in the United States were found among inmates in the New York City jail and prisons systems. This article traces the history of drug use and HIV infection among populations incarcerated in New York City jails and New York State prisons between 1980 and 2007. It describes and analyzes the policies and programs that were initiated to respond to these epidemics and assesses the lessons learned from almost three decades of experience with HIV among populations in New York's correctional facilities.

Keywords :

• HIV infection
• jail
• substance use
• criminal justice
• policy

THE AUTHORS

Nicholas Freudenberg, Dr.P.H., is Distinguished Professor of Public Health at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and directs its Doctor of Public Health Program. He has worked in New York City jails, developing, implementing, and evaluating HIV and substance use intervention and reentry programs for more than 20 years. He has also published widely on urban health policy, HIV prevention, and the social determinants of and solutions to health inequities.

Notes

1 The Rockefeller drug laws were statutes passed by the New York State Legislature in 1973 with the strong support of then-Governor Nelson Rockefeller. The laws created mandatory minimums sentences for convictions for sale and possession of narcotic drugs. Observers attribute increases in the New York State prison population in the 1970s through the 1990s in part to these laws. In 2004 and again in 2009, New York State rescinded some provisions of these laws.