The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of the criminal justice system, leading to some positive changes, some missed opportunities and several lessons to be learned, according to criminal justice experts. The Law360 Access to Justice article “How COVID Has Affected Policing And Incarceration” addresses how the pandemic has affected law enforcement and incarceration.

Article excerpt:

Prisons and jails are hot spots for virus outbreaks, with virus-related death tolls twice as high as among the general public, according to criminal justice experts. In response to those virus outbreaks, officials last year changed policing practices to send fewer people to jails and stopped transfers of inmates from jails to prisons.

But criminal justice experts told Law360 that governments should have released more people and invested more resources into crime prevention programs.

“We can incarcerate less and be just as safe,” said Insha Rahman, vice president of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit research and policy organization that works with the government to improve justice systems.

Read the full article here.