The National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice was launched in July 2020 by the Council on Criminal Justice. Its mission was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the justice system, develop strategies to limit outbreaks, and produce a priority agenda of systemic policy changes to better balance public health and public safety.
The Commission was composed of 14 members who represent a diverse range of relevant professional expertise. Commissioners included current and former justice system leaders, elected officials, advocates, a leading incarceration researcher, a top public health specialist, and a directly impacted individual.
Impact REports
Impact Report: COVID-19 and Crime
This updated analysis explores trends in violent, property, and drug offenses during the COVID-19 pandemic through March 2021.
Impact Report: COVID-19 and SUD Treatment
Arriving in the midst of an opioid crisis, evidence suggests that COVID-19 and associated policies negatively impacted people with substance use disorders.
Impact Report: COVID-19 Testing in State Prisons
Evidence suggests that more testing, early testing, and early mass testing may have been strategies that helped states achieve lower rates of COVID-19 mortality behind bars.
Impact Report: COVID-19 and Domestic Violence Trends
Advancing knowledge about the impacts of the pandemic on domestic violence, a review of multiple studies comparing incidents of abuse before and after jurisdictions began imposing lockdowns finds an 8.1% increase.
Impact Report: COVID-19 and Crime
Two researchers evaluating crime trends in 34 American cities during the pandemic and social unrest over police violence presented new findings through December 2020 in a report for the Commission.
Impact Report: COVID-19 and Prisons
Advancing knowledge about the impacts of COVID-19 on state and federal prisons, a report to the Commission updates a previous report on rates of COVID-19 infection and mortality in correctional facilities and describes differences in such rates among states.
Impact Report: COVID-19 and Jails
A report by researchers with the NYU Public Safety Lab, based on data from 375 jails across 39 states, examined changes in jail populations, their composition, and rebooking trends from Jan. 1 through late October.
Impact Report: COVID-19 and Crime
Two researchers evaluating crime trends in 27 American cities during the pandemic and social unrest over police violence presented new findings through October 2020 in a report for the Commission.
Impact Report: COVID-19 and Opioid Use Disorder
A report by researchers with the NYU Public Safety Lab, based on data from 375 jails across 39 states, examined changes in jail populations, their composition, and rebooking trends from Jan. 1 through late July.
Commission Members
Alberto Gonzales (Co-Chair)
Former U.S. Attorney General
Hon. Loretta Lynch (Co-Chair)
Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General
Charlie Beck
Former Chief, LAPD
Chief Adrian Diaz
Seattle Police Department
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez
Harris County, Texas
Tom Inglesby, M.D.
Director, John Hopkins Center for Health Security
Mayor Eric Johnson
Dallas, Texas
Pastor Michael McBride
Director of Urban Strategies, LIVE FREE Campaign
Desmond Meade
Executive Director, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition
Hon. Tina Nadeau
Chief Justice, New Hampshire Superior Court
Melissa Nelson
State Attorney, Florida's 4th Judicial Circuit
Colette S. Peters
Director, Oregon Department of Corrections
Steven Raphael
Professor and James D. Marver Chair, Goldman School, University of California, Berkeley
Jo-Ann Wallace
President and CEO, National Legal Aid and Defender Association
Thomas Abt
Director, National Commission on COVID-19; Senior Fellow, Council on Criminal Justice
Supporters
Support for the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice comes from Arnold Ventures, Blue Meridian Partners (Justice and Mobility Fund), John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Microsoft, Schusterman Family Philanthropies, and CCJ’s general operating contributors.
