Sarah Jensen, Shannon Magnuson 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, jails across the U.S. implemented emergency measures to reduce populations and mitigate virus transmission. Counties participating in the MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) were uniquely well positioned to address COVID-19 challenges because they had existing operational strategies aimed at reducing their jail population. 

Justice System Partners (JSP) conducted a mixed-methods case study of Multnomah County, Oregon—an SJC site—to examine the impact of jail reduction strategies. The study found that participation in the SJC assisted Multnomah County in collaborating to implement strategies, and that many of the approaches Multnomah County used were expansions of pre-existing strategies developed through their work in the SJC. Additionally, the study found that, contrary to popular belief, jail reduction did not lead to an increase in crime. Although Multnomah County staff and community members reported feeling unsafe during the pandemic, those concerns were related to a combination of COVID-19, changes in policing practices, and social disorder rather than violent offenses. These findings underscore the effectiveness of jail reduction strategies and the opportunity to expand SJC strategies towards sustainable jail reduction.