What's at stake if prisons and jails don't decarcerate
Prison Policy Initiative updates for March 24, 2020 Showing how mass incarceration harms communities and our national welfare
As pandemic threatens to devastate prison population, new report provides updated “big picture” view of incarceration in the U.S. [[link removed]] Our new "Whole Pie" report reveals what's at stake if prisons and jails do not take immediate steps to decarcerate.
As advocates urge prisons and jails to slow the spread of COVID-19 [[link removed]] by releasing as many incarcerated people as possible, it's more important than ever to understand how many people are locked up across the country, where, and why. Our new edition of Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie, [[link removed]] released today, answers these essential questions with the most recent data.
The data and 24 visuals in the report contain significant implications for how the criminal justice system should respond to the pandemic:
Local jails hold 631,000 people on any given day, including 470,000 people still awaiting trial. Jail overcrowding poses a serious public health risk in light of COVID-19, making it essential that courts, police, and prosecutors reduce jail populations [[link removed]] to slow the spread of the virus. Low-level infractions like misdemeanor charges, technical violations of probation and parole, and failure to appear in court account for millions of jail and prison admissions each year - admissions that should be put on hold immediately [[link removed]] to improve public health outcomes. 39,000 immigrants are currently being held by ICE for no reason other than their undocumented status. Unless they are released, their incarceration will put them at a heightened risk of contracting COVID-19. While the majority of people in state prisons are convicted of violent crimes, federal and state officials can still take measures such as expanding parole and compassionate release [[link removed]] to allow these individuals - many of whom are elderly or medically vulnerable - to go home.
"Now that COVID-19 is entering prisons and jails, our failure to end mass incarceration is making itself known as a public health crisis," said Executive Director Peter Wagner. "If policymakers want to prevent a human tragedy from taking place in prisons and jails, they need to do what they've been refusing to do since we published our first Whole Pie report: shrink the incarcerated population to a fraction of what it is today."
Even under normal circumstances, the lack of available data about the criminal justice system poses a significant obstacle to policymakers and advocates seeking to reform that system. In the face of the current crisis, clear facts are essential to quickly and safely downsizing prison and jail populations. This year's Whole Pie report answers that need, providing the comprehensive view of mass incarceration necessary to make sound decisions today and, when this crisis passes, to plot a long-term path forward.
The Prison Policy Initiative also recently published policy recommendations for criminal justice systems [[link removed]] to slow the spread of COVID-19. Its recommendations include releasing medically vulnerable adults from jails and prisons, reducing jail admissions, and ending parole and probation revocations for technical violations. The organization is tracking [[link removed]] jails, prisons, and other agencies that take these essential steps.
The full report and graphics are available at [link removed]. [[link removed]]
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Our work is made possible by private donations. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Other news: "Detainers" make it easy to jail people without bail. How do they work? [[link removed]]
In some jails, one-third of all people inside are held without bail because a probation office, parole office, or ICE has issued a "detainer" rendering them ineligible for release. We explain how detainers contribute to unnecessary jail incarceration and how they could be reformed.
Read our explainer. [[link removed]]
What steps is your county jail taking to stop COVID-19? [[link removed]]
On our coronavirus response page, [[link removed]] we're keeping track of which state and local agencies are releasing incarcerated people to bring down density, reducing jail admissions, eliminating medical co-pays, and more. (We recommended all of these policy changes in our recent briefing "No need to wait for pandemics: the public health case for criminal justice reform." [[link removed]])
The “services” offered by jails don’t make them safe places for vulnerable people [[link removed]]
We responded to a troubling question we've been hearing lately: Given that jails provide valuable social services, isn't it bad to release people who need services?
In a short article, [[link removed]] we explain why this question misunderstands the kind of "services" that jails provide.
Colorado becomes the 8th state to end prison gerrymandering [[link removed]]
Even in the midst of a pandemic, momentum is building in state legislatures to end prison gerrymandering. Late last Friday, Governor Jared Polis signed HB 20-1010, [[link removed]] making Colorado the eighth state to ensure that people in state prisons are counted as residents of their home addresses when new legislative districts are drawn.
Please support our work [[link removed]]
Our work is made possible by private donations. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Our other newsletters Ending prison gerrymandering ( archives [[link removed]]) Criminal justice research library ( archives) [[link removed]]
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