Corrections_Today_September_October_2023_Vol.85_No.5

NEWS&VIEWS

NIJ UPDATE

Using data and science to understand the impact of COVID-19 on corrections By NIJ Staff

Authors’ Note: Findings and conclu sions reported in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. T he global COVID-19 pan demic has significantly altered our way of life while cutting short hundreds of thou sands of American lives. Roughly 15 months into the pandemic, the United States had reported more than 32 million cases of the deadly virus and 600,000 COVID-19 deaths. 1 Since March 2020, the pan demic has impacted the entire criminal justice system, especially corrections. Between March and June 2020, more than 11% of the 215,360 COVID-19 tests conducted in local jails were positive. 2 As the world changed, the justice system remained obligated both to protect public safety by providing secure environments for incarcerated indi viduals and to maintain the safety and security of staff and those in custody. Although always a critical mis sion, protecting physical health and safety took on a different mean ing during this time. The spread of COVID-19 led to significant changes

in corrections operations, including reductions in institutional admis sions, increases in early releases to the community, the modification or suspension of certain programming due to physical safety guidelines, and shifts to virtual visitation in facilities and virtual meetings for individuals on probation and parole. During the last year, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the U.S. Department of Justice’s research, development, and evaluation agency, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the country’s primary source

of criminal justice statistics, worked to understand and document the impact of COVID-19 on corrections systems and offer recommendations to institutional and community cor rections agencies on best practices going forward. NIJ and BJS reports and briefs As part of that effort, NIJ and BJS have released reports and briefs to support corrections agencies as they continue to adjust their practices and begin to resume pre-pandemic operations.

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16 — September/October 2023 Corrections Today