The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has released a new brief titled “Criminal Justice and Health: Social Drivers of Violent Crime.”

The latest in a series of publications on the link between criminal justice and health, the brief includes:

• Data and information on the structural and social drivers of violence, including racism, income inequality, neighborhood planning, gendered social norms, education and employment, health care, housing and criminal justice.
• Recently passed or proposed state-level policy changes that may have an impact on community violence.
• A set of evidence-informed policy recommendations and implementation examples that Ohio can leverage to drive improvement.

Ohio ranks 34th in the nation in homicide deaths. Like national trends, homicide in Ohio peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, but has not returned to pre-pandemic rates, as illustrated above.

“Even with laws and penalties such as arrest and incarceration in place, violent crime persists and causes significant harm to victims and communities,” the report states. “Community conditions and societal structures can support or prevent violent crime. Since the research evidence is clear that arrests and incarceration are detrimental to the health of individuals, families and communities, it is important to take an upstream approach for violence prevention.”