New York City's Health Department is launching a new initiative aimed to help healthcare providers provide better care to people who have had contact with the criminal justice system.

“The data show that involvement with the criminal justice system – even brief contact with the police or indirect exposure – is associated with lasting harm to people’s physical and mental health,” said New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot in a statement.  

Dr. Homer Venters, the former chief medical officer of New York City's jails and the author of the book Life and Death in Rikers Island, said that's consistent with what he's seen. 

"There are a wide range of health risks of involvement with the criminal justice system, most seriously obviously would be death," Venters said. "But even small interactions can lead to high levels of stress, and they can lead people to have a hard time accessing medical or mental health services afterwards." 

Listen to Venters' full conversation with WNYC's Richard Hake.