Brain Links is sharing a brief set of Criminal Justice resources as part of our Tennessee Brighter Futures (TBF) Collaborative. The TBF mission is Building brighter futures for Tennesseans by improving how systems of support collaborate to identify, educate and serve people with co-occurring needs.

Below is a snapshot of Criminal Justice Resources:

Criminal Justice numbers in Tennessee:

• Tennessee currently has approximately 30,000 people incarcerated in jail and approximately 20,000 people incarcerated in prison.
• Out of these, approximately 95% will be released.
• 1 in 3 Tennesseans has a criminal background.
• 1 in 2 Tennesseans has a family member that has been incarcerated.  https://www.tn.gov/workforce/reentrytn/about.html

Intersectionality with Brain Injury

The issue of Traumatic Brain Injury in prisons and jails is big enough that the CDC recognizes it as an important public health problem. Within five years after an injury, nearly one-third report some involvement with the criminal justice system. In the adult criminal justice system 50-80% have had a Traumatic Brain Injury (as compared with 8.5% in the general population. People with a TBI are 14 times more likely to incur a serious charge and 12 times less likely to achieve a discretionary release. Having a TBI increases the risk of recidivism by 69%.  It is believed that close to 100% of women in the justice system have a history of TBI – much of these injuries are due to domestic violence.