Figures
The figures below were developed for a December 31 commentary in the New York Daily News about COVID-19 in New York City Jails. We argue that the city's current response is far worse than its inadequate spring response, placing incarcerated people, their families, correctional staff, and the community at large at grave risk. The New York City jail population continues to increase daily, approaching pre-pandemic levels, and city officials are taking no action to reduce populations or implement a rigorous testing regime. Mass releases and mass testing are necessary as we face a second outbreak in New York City jails.
(Source: NYC Open Data)
(Source: NYC Board of Correction COVID-19 Updates)
The pretrial detention population in NYC jails is higher now than it was pre-pandemic: 3,268 people were detained pretrial on March 1 compared to 3,704 people on December 30.
(Source: Vera Institute of Justice JailViz 2.0)