Proposed Public Health and Public Safety Pathways for Criminal Justice System Responses to COVID-19

Incarceration puts both incarcerated people and corrections staff at risk of contracting COVID-19. A wide array of criminal justice stakeholders have come together to call for a public health-oriented approach to the COVID-19 crisis. The key recommendations include releasing incarcerated individuals, limiting new additions to closed correctional settings, addressing violations of COVID-19 related orders through a public health approach (rather than with criminalization), connecting public health organizations and criminal justice stakeholders, and utilizing innovations that promote integration of public health priorities into the justice system.