[VIRTUAL] Lowering Jail Populations Safely Before, During, and After COVID-19

This webinar will provide a quick overview of the latest report from CUNY ISLG exploring the claim that jail population reform efforts caused an increase in crime. Consistent with previous research, findings through early 2023 continued to show that jail populations in cities and counties participating in the Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) were lowered safely, without driving an increase in crime or an increase in returns to jail custody. The webinar will walk through the latest findings:

• There is no correlation between changes in incarceration and violent crime; 
• Roughly 75 percent of people who were released pretrial were not rebooked into jail at all;
• Of the people rebooked after being released pretrial, nearly a third were for administrative reasons, not a new crime;
• Only 2 percent of people released pretrial returned to jail charged with a violent crime, a number that has remained consistent before and after reforms were implemented. 

Presenters:

• Sana Khan, Senior Research Associate
• Stephanie Rosoff, Associate Research Director