"Lowering Jail Populations Safely Before, During, and After COVID-19: Updated Findings on Jail Reform, Violent Crime and the COVID-19 Pandemic"

The title of this post is the title of this new research brief authored by Sana Khan, Emily West, Stephanie Rosoff of the CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance.  This executive summary explains the research and reports these key findings:  

Two years out from COVID-19’s peak, there continues to be no apparent correlation between changes in incarceration and violent crime.  Most individuals released from jail on pretrial status did not return to jail custody, and local violent crime rates varied regardless of changes to the jail population — suggesting that jail reduction reforms can be implemented safely.

About 80 percent of people who were released on pretrial status were either not rebooked into jail at all (75 percent) or were returned to jail for administrative reasons (7 percent) — therefore, not a threat to public safety.

The pandemic-era increase in violent crime was not caused by jail reduction reforms; people released pretrial were very unlikely to return to jail charged with a violent crime — about 2% of individuals released pretrial returned with a new violent crime charge.  This rate has remained consistent for almost a decade, predating reform efforts.