{"id":359,"date":"2022-06-08T12:24:45","date_gmt":"2022-06-08T19:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/?page_id=359"},"modified":"2026-03-25T09:53:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T16:53:35","slug":"press","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/press\/","title":{"rendered":"Press"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--single\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WSU researchers investigate rising rural jail rates in Washington<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-816 size-medium\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"396\" height=\"261\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/ruraljails-396x261.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of Jail\" class=\"wp-image-816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/ruraljails-396x261.jpg 396w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/ruraljails-792x523.jpg 792w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/ruraljails-768x507.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/ruraljails-990x653.jpg 990w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/ruraljails-1188x784.jpg 1188w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/ruraljails.jpg 1212w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 396px) 100vw, 396px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by lettas on Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>A team of Washington State University researchers is exploring a critical question in the state\u2019s legal system: Why are rates of incarceration rising in rural county jails, while dropping in urban ones? What they\u2019ve found in examining data covering six rural counties over six years is that a significant proportion of those held in jails are there for [&#8230;] <a href=\"https:\/\/news.wsu.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/05\/wsu-researchers-investigate-rising-rural-jail-rates-in-washington\/\">Full article.<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--single\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">While Washington\u2019s urban arrests trend down, rural incarceration rates are going up<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-817 size-medium\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"396\" height=\"264\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/AP33072353451-2048x1365-1-396x264.jpg\" alt=\"An inmate huddles under a heavy blanket in Pierce County Jail\" class=\"wp-image-817\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/AP33072353451-2048x1365-1-396x264.jpg 396w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/AP33072353451-2048x1365-1-792x528.jpg 792w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/AP33072353451-2048x1365-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/AP33072353451-2048x1365-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/AP33072353451-2048x1365-1-990x660.jpg 990w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/AP33072353451-2048x1365-1-1188x792.jpg 1188w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/AP33072353451-2048x1365-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 396px) 100vw, 396px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Credit: Elaine Thompson, AP file photo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>For most of her career, Jennifer Schwartz has studied crime and punishment. As a sociology professor at Washington State University, she started to notice a pattern in her research. While urban area incarcerations in Washington are going down, the number of people imprisoned in rural areas is going up. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nwpb.org\/2022\/12\/15\/while-washingtons-urban-arrests-trend-down-rural-incarceration-rates-are-going-up\/?fbclid=IwAR10dg176kCAk1_7Otj8tCF9VNAO6RdMMONHifx5ci7tObtQRb2SCQaP7nw\">Full article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--single\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">COVID reveals jail \u201ccracks\u201d&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-820 size-medium\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"396\" height=\"194\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/2021fall-COVID-jail-cracks-2-990x485-1-396x194.jpg\" alt=\"Washington state\u2019s first territorial jail cellblock built in 1873\" class=\"wp-image-820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/2021fall-COVID-jail-cracks-2-990x485-1-396x194.jpg 396w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/2021fall-COVID-jail-cracks-2-990x485-1-792x388.jpg 792w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/2021fall-COVID-jail-cracks-2-990x485-1-768x376.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/2021fall-COVID-jail-cracks-2-990x485-1.jpg 990w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 396px) 100vw, 396px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Courtesy Washington State Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><span class=\"article-emphasis\">Jails are linked to their communities by a thousand intimate threads.&nbsp;<\/span>Unlike prisons, jails are staffed by local clerks, corrections officers, doctors, and other employees. The inmates themselves are typically released back to their home neighborhoods within days of an arrest. It\u2019s a risky recipe that turned crowded jails into infectious hot zones during the COVID-19 pandemic and [&#8230;] <a href=\"https:\/\/magazine.wsu.edu\/2021\/08\/02\/covid-reveals-jail-cracks\/?fbclid=IwAR3ivugkzzytKZB7JFS5tX4dM3-XbeK2u-KC4dVE5_HGSpUb0vpIN5Ddpco\">Full article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--single\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Vera Announces Partnerships with University of Georgia and Washington State University to Address the Growing Use of Jails in Rural America<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"396\" height=\"396\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/the-new-dynamics-of-mass-incarceration-square-396x396.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of Mass Incarceration\" class=\"wp-image-888\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/the-new-dynamics-of-mass-incarceration-square-396x396.jpg 396w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/the-new-dynamics-of-mass-incarceration-square-792x792.jpg 792w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/the-new-dynamics-of-mass-incarceration-square-198x198.jpg 198w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/the-new-dynamics-of-mass-incarceration-square-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/the-new-dynamics-of-mass-incarceration-square.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 396px) 100vw, 396px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">illustration: Julia Kuo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since 2017, the Vera Institute of Justice has documented the surprising and dramatic shift in the geography of mass incarceration: while big cities and urban areas are making strides to stem the tide of people entering local jails,&nbsp;<a style=\"font-weight: 400\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vera.org\/publications\/out-of-sight-growth-of-jails-rural-america\">rural counties<\/a> and small cities are instead experiencing a staggering rise. As a result, the total U.S. jail population continues to increase, eroding the nation\u2019s efforts to end mass incarceration. Research that could shed light [&#8230;] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vera.org\/newsroom\/vera-announces-partnerships-with-university-of-georgia-and-washington-state-university-to-address-the-growing-use-of-jails-in-rural-america\">Full article<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--single\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sociologists examine rural justice systems<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-824 size-medium\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"396\" height=\"293\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/web-58-900x666-1-396x293.jpg\" alt=\"Jenn Sherman discusses the project\" class=\"wp-image-824\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/web-58-900x666-1-396x293.jpg 396w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/web-58-900x666-1-792x586.jpg 792w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/web-58-900x666-1-768x568.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/web-58-900x666-1.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 396px) 100vw, 396px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo credit Arielle Argel, Daily Evergreen<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>WSU sociologists are examining ways to reduce rising incarceration rates in rural areas as a part of grant-funded research project. Sociology professor Jennifer Schwartz and associate professor Jennifer Sherman will speak to people working in rural jails, law enforcement and other parts of rural justice systems. They will also collect data in those areas. <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyevergreen.com\/73383\/news\/sociologists-examine-rural-justice-systems\/\">Full article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--single\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Combating rising incarceration in rural areas&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-826 size-medium\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"396\" height=\"264\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/rural-county-jail2-1-396x264.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of The 1914 County Jail in Astoria\" class=\"wp-image-826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/rural-county-jail2-1-396x264.jpg 396w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/rural-county-jail2-1-792x528.jpg 792w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/rural-county-jail2-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/rural-county-jail2-1-990x660.jpg 990w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/2567\/2025\/06\/rural-county-jail2-1.jpg 1188w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 396px) 100vw, 396px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cThe 1914 County Jail in Astoria\u201d by willapalens is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>While big cities across the U.S. make progress toward reducing the number of people entering local jails, smaller cities and rural counties are experiencing an alarming rise in incarcerations. Understanding the factors behind this shift and helping rural Washington communities overcome their justice system challenges [&#8230;] <a href=\"https:\/\/news.wsu.edu\/news\/2020\/01\/30\/combating-rising-incarceration-rural-areas\/\">Full article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":23846,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/359"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23846"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359"}],"version-history":[{"count":88,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1149,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/359\/revisions\/1149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=359"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/wrjn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}