Governing: What’s Driving the Uptick in Violence at New York Prisons?

Our Managing Director of Justice Initiatives Dr. Nneka Jones Tapia was interviewed by Governing to speak about how mental health support and a sense of community may help correctional systems. 

What Drives Prison Violence?

“I don’t believe that many people who are incarcerated and who work in the system are inherently violent,” says Nneka Jones Tapia, managing director of justice initiatives at the philanthropic organization Chicago Beyond and a clinical psychologist studying impacts of jails and prisons on behavior.

“I do believe that the system itself produces trauma in people, and that trauma changes the way our brains function,” says Tapia, who was also formerly the warden of Chicago’s Cook County Jail, where she worked to reduce violence. “And when it changes the way our brains function, it puts us in a position where we have more fear for those who are around us and the environment, and we can act out in ways to protect ourselves.”

Read the full article here