NCJ Number
129060
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 37 Issue: 1 Dated: special issue (January 1991) Pages: 5-18
Date Published
1991
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses mandatory HIV testing or screening within the criminal justice system from a legal and public health perspective.
Abstract
It examines the benefits and costs of testing rape assailants and assaultive offenders involved in biting, spitting, needle sticks, and fights. The debate over testing of inmates in correctional facilities is explored as is the issue of screening of probationers and parolees under community supervision. An analysis of the routes of transmission of HIV indicates that mandatory HIV screening in many of these cases is not warranted and presents little or no risk of viral transmission. Similarly, policy development for mass screening in correctional facilities and within the context of community supervision is viewed as not justified. 11 notes and 44 references (Author abstract modified)