What prisons and jails are doing to slow down COVID-19 - and what else they must do immediately

On a new page on our website, we’re tracking the positive steps that prisons, jails, and other criminal justice agencies have taken to slow the spread of COVID-19. Most agencies are still ignoring the demands of national and local criminal justice reformers (demands that The Justice Collaborative is tracking in a comprehensive spreadsheet). Some jurisdictions, however, are making positive changes.

See below for some of the policy changes we’ve identified so far, or check out the page at www.prisonpolicy.org/virusresponse.html. We'll continue to add (and cull) from this page as correctional systems begin to catch up with the urgency of the situation.

Releasing people from jails and prisons

We already know that jails and prisons house large numbers of people with chronic diseases and complex medical needs who are more vulnerable to COVID-19, and one of the best ways to protect these people is to reduce overcrowding in correctional facilities. Some jails are already making these changes:

• In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, judges began expedited hearings on Saturday to help reduce the jail population. On a single day, they released 38 people from the Cuyahoga County Jail, and they hope to release at least 200 more people charged with low-level, non-violent crimes. (March 14)
• In Los Angeles County, California, the Sheriff reported that they have released more than 600 people to mitigate the risk of virus transmission in crowded jails. (March 16)
• In Travis County, Texas, judges have begun to release more people from local jails on personal bonds (about 50% more often than usual), focusing on preventing people with health issues who are charged with non-violent offenses from going into the jail system.

Reducing jail admissions

Lowering jail admissions reduces “jail churn” — the rapid movement of people in and out of jails — and will allow the facility's total population to drop very quickly.

• In Bexar County, Texas, Sheriff Javier Salazar released a COVID-19 mitigation plan that includes encouraging the use of cite and release and "filing non-violent offenses at large," rather than locking more people up during this pandemic.
• In Los Angeles County, California, the police department has reportedly reduced arrests from an average of about 300 per day to 60 per day by utilizing citations rather than booking people, in an effort to reduce jail admissions.

Reducing unnecessary contact, visits to crowded offices, and technical violations for people on parole and probation

We don’t (yet) know of any notable reforms in this area, but there is an important letter from current and former probation and parole executives saying what must be done to promote social distancing and continuing to support people under supervision.

Eliminating medical co-pays

In most states, incarcerated people are expected to pay $2-$5 co-pays for physician visits, medications, and testing. Because incarcerated people typically earn 14 to 63 cents per hour, these charges are the equivalent of charging a free-world worker $200 or $500 for a medical visit. The result is to discourage medical treatment and to put public health at risk. In 2019, some states recognized the harm and eliminated these co-pays. We’re tracking how states are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic:

The web version of this article contains an expanded version of this table. The full table lists states that have made no changes in their co-pay policy in response to COVID-19, as well as states that did not respond to our survey.

Reducing the cost of phone and video calls

Most federal prisons, state prisons and many local jails have decided to drastically reduce or completely eliminate friends and family visitation so as to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure in facilities. In normal times, we would point to the significant evidence that sustained meaningful contact with family and friends benefits incarcerated people in the long run, including reducing recidivism. But it is even more important, in this time of crisis, for incarcerated people to know that their loved ones are safe and vice versa. While many facilities have suspended in-person visitation, only a few have made an effort to supplement this loss by waiving fees for phone calls and video communication. Here is one notable example:

• Shelby County, Tennessee suspended jail visitations, but also decided that to maintain these vital connections between families, they are waiving fees for all phone calls and video communication. (March 12)

Other jurisdictions have instituted cost reductions that — while better than nothing — are embarrassingly stingy:

• Montgomery County, Ohio has agreed to provide people in jail with 1 free phone call per day and 2 free emails per day.
• In Connecticut, state prisons are providing 2 free phone calls per week for the next 30 days.
• In Florida state prisons, the Department of Corrections is offering people in state prison 1 free video call, 2 free phone calls (up to 15 minutes) per week, 4 free JPay stamps each week, and they have reduced the cost of outbound videograms reduced by 50%.
• Harris County, Texas is offering people in jails 2 free phone calls per week for the next 30 days.
• In Delaware, people in state prison now have access to 2 free 5-minute phone calls per week for the rest of March.
• The Vermont Department of Corrections released a statement reporting that they are offering video calling starting this week (1 free video call per week up to 25 min).

Help us keep our page up to date

If you know of notable reforms that should be listed here, please let us know at [email protected]. We won’t list everything, but we appreciate what you can send us.