As daily COVID-19 cases hit record levels across the U.S. this week, the infection rate among people incarcerated in state prisons continued to dramatically outpace that of the general public.
The following two charts show the latest trends and analysis from The Council of State Governments Justice Center:
1. The COVID-19 infection rate for incarcerated people last month reached more than four times that of the general population.
From April through June, the pace of COVID-19 infection rates among people incarcerated in state prisons largely mirrored that of the general public. This took a turn at the end of July as the virus began to spread more aggressively behind state prison walls.
While incarcerated people account for the majority of infections in prisons, the latest data also show that corrections staff are impacted at more than 2.5 times the rate of the general population.
2. This week, the number of COVID-19 cases reported in state prisons reached its highest peak since the pandemic began.
Nearly every week since April, the number of COVID-19 cases reported by state prisons has hit a new peak—and showed no indication of slowing down.
The latest numbers reported on October 30 are the highest since April: 139,323 positive cases among incarcerated people and 30,752 among corrections staff. In just the last month, the numbers have increased by 16.8 percent among incarcerated people and 22 percent among corrections staff.
Stay up to date on COVID-19 in state prisons by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, Justice Briefing, and check out our website for additional COVID-19 resources.
About the Authors
Angela Gunter
Senior Research Associate, Research
Angela
Gunter’s
work
primarily
focuses
on
the
data
monitoring
of
Justice
Reinvestment
projects
during
Phase
II
policy
implementation.
She
supports
various
ad
hoc
research
efforts,
including
the
2014
Recidivism
Reduction
report,
the
Reentry
and
Employment
pilot
program,
and
the
evaluation
...
of
the
pretrial
process
for
Bexar
and
Dallas
Counties.
Angela
began
her
career
in
criminal
justice
in
2001
at
the
Texas
Criminal
Justice
Policy
Council,
where
she
worked
on
forecasting
the
impact
of
juvenile
justice
policy
options
for
the
Texas
Legislature
and
creating
monthly
projections
of
bed
capacity
for
juveniles.
Angie
later
joined
the
JFA
Institute
and
conducted
research
on
different
aspects
of
the
criminal
justice
system,
including
parole,
probation,
and
juvenile
justice
in
Texas,
Kansas,
and
Puerto
Rico.
In
2008,
Angie
worked
with
the
CSG
Justice
Center
as
a
consultant
on
various
projects,
including
mental
health
IT
development
for
the
State
of
Alaska.
Prior
to
her
career
in
criminal
justice,
Angie
worked
in
the
private
sector
as
a
business
systems
analyst
where
she
oversaw
the
project
lifecycle
of
custom-built
software
applications.
She
received
her
BA
from
Rice
University
and
her
MPA
from
Indiana
University.
Public Affairs Manager, Communications and External Affairs
Brenna
Callahan
drives
strategic
media
relations
and
public
affairs
to
advance
organization-wide
initiatives.
Prior
to
joining
the
CSG
Justice
Center,
Brenna
managed
national
communications
for
a
civic
engagement
nonprofit.
She
previously
developed
and
managed
a
communications
and
economic
equity
policy
...
portfolio
for
Mayor
Marty
Walsh’s
Office
of
Women’s
Advancement
at
the
City
of
Boston.
Brenna
also
worked
in
both
development
and
operations
roles
at
the
Boys
&
Girls
Clubs
of
Boston,
where
she
managed
agency-wide
programming.
Brenna
earned
a
BA
in
English
from
Boston
College
and
an
MPA
at
Suffolk
University.
