Vera Institute of Justice Issues COVID-19 Guidance for Corrections

By CN Staff

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—The Vera Institute of Justice, based in Brooklyn, recently unveiled some coronavirus guidelines and supportive information resources for administrators, officials, and staff who work in jails, prisons, and immigration detention and youth facilities.

The main document on the topic released by the Vera Institute includes sections on prioritizing prevention, containing possible spread, and juggling swift case responses with the preservation of due process.

The institute also released the following general statement regarding the pandemic and their related guidance:

The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has been declared by the World Health Organization to be a global pandemic. As the number of people infected in the United States grows exponentially, we must focus on prevention and containment in the criminal and immigration legal systems. Vera and Community Oriented Correctional Health Services have created a series of fact sheets to guide actors in these systems, who have a unique and critical role to play. Adopting the recommendations in these documents will help protect and care for the millions of vulnerable people who make contact with, and the staff who work for, the nation’s courts, police departments, prisons, jails, and detention centers.

Click here to access this helpful resource from the Vera Institute of Justice.

To visit Vera’s website, which includes a video statement from its president on the coronavirus and various articles on the pandemic, go to www.vera.org.