For years, society has treated crime and incarceration -- and thereby public safety -- as law-enforcement issues. Research, however, suggests that a lack of stable employment, housing, and healthcare, which are social determinants of health, drive the conditions that lead to harm. Thus, public safety is not just a legal issue, but a public health one.
Viewing public safety through a public health lens invites us to prevent rather than react, and to heal rather than punish. It recognizes that violence and injury, including those caused by the criminal-legal system itself, are public health concerns requiring care, prevention, and restoration. When we make this shift, we stop framing people as problems to control and start treating safety as a collective responsibility rooted in dignity, equity, and well-being.
