Corrections_Today_September_October_2023_Vol.85_No.5

NEWS&VIEWS

END NOTES 1 Data as of May 25, 2021 at 12:32 p.m. ET: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_ casesper100klast7days. 2 See T. D. Minton, Z. Zeng, & L. M. Maruschak, “Impact of COVID-19 on the Local Jail Population, January-June 2020,” Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, March 2021, NCJ 255888, https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/ icljpjj20.pdf . 3 The Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative is a joint effort managed by the RAND Corporation in partnership with the Police Executive Research Forum, RTI International, and the University of Denver on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice. 4 For a more in-depth discussion of the criminal justice system’s response to the pandemic, see The U.S. Criminal Justice System in the Pandemic Era and Beyond: Taking Stock of Efforts to Maintain Safety and Justice Through the COVID-19 Pandemic and Prepare for Future Challenges: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/ RRA108-8.html. 5 B. A. Jackson, et al., “Promising Practices from the Institutional Corrections System’s COVID-19 Response: Managing Safety and Security on the Inside,” Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2021, https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/ RBA108-3.html. 6 For more information, see https://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/ race-ethnicity.html and https://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/ people-with-medical-conditions.html. 7 One panelist described how extra space in their facility was used to create a pretrial diversion unit to assist individuals prior to release and a mental health unit for persons with mental health needs

who can function in social environments (i.e., those who do not require single housing). 8 The questions listed here are from the RAND report. For additional questions raised during the workshops, see https://www.rand.org/pubs/ research_briefs/RBA108-3.html . 9 B. A. Jackson et al., “Promising Practices from the Institutional Corrections System’s COVID-19 Response.” 10 Other critical adaptations were made by community corrections agencies. For more information, see https://www.rand.org/pubs/ research_briefs/RBA108-4.html . 11 For more information, see https://www.rand.org/ pubs/research_briefs/RBA108-4.html . 1 2 The questions listed here are from the RAND report. For information on additional questions raised during the stakeholder meeting, see https://www. rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RBA108-4.html . 13 See Minton, Zeng, and Maruschak, “Impact of COVID-19 on the Local Jail Population, January-June 2020.” 14 See Minton, Zeng, and Maruschak, “Impact of COVID-19 on the Local Jail Population, January-June 2020.” 15 The 841 jails accounted for about 69% (376,500) of the total inmate population and nearly 68% (160,500) of all staff employed in local jails at midyear 2020. BJS did not estimate the number of inmate or staff deaths for jails from COVID-19 for jails that did not respond to the survey or for jails that were not selected to participate in the Annual Survey of Jails. See page 10 of BJS’s report, “Impact of COVID-19 on the Local Jail Population, January-June 2020,” for more information.

1 6 For example, the impact of California’s realignment (AB 109) on community justice systems and recidivism is still being studied. But at this time, the release of so many offenders from state custody does not appear to have a major impact on overall crime and public safety. See M. Lofstrom & S. Raphael, “Prison downsizing and public safety: Evidence from California,” Criminology & Public Policy, 15 no. 2 (2016): 349-365. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12203 17 To learn more about NIJ and NIJ’s investment in corrections research, see https://nij.ojp.gov and https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/corrections . 18 To learn more about BJS and BJS’s corrections data collections, such as the National Prisoner Statistics program and the Annual Survey of Jails, see https://bjs.ojp.gov/ and https://bjs.ojp.gov/ topics/corrections?tid=1&ty=tp . For information

on forthcoming BJS publications, see https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/ forthcoming.

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20 — September/October 2023 Corrections Today