Mass incarceration refers to the system of social and racial control in the United States that arrests, convicts, incarcerates, and supervises racial and ethnic minority populations through probation and parole. Mass incarceration is referred to as “mass” because the current size of this system in the United States is historically and internationally unparalleled. Mass incarceration affects those who are incarcerated and under community supervision, as well as the families and communities where it is concentrated. Mass incarceration is a pervasive cause of health inequities in the United States
