scholarly journals COVID-19 mitigation strategies for reduced transmission in U.S. prisons

2021 ◽  
pp. 63-67
Author(s):  
Olivia Pfeiffer ◽  
Shibu Antony ◽  
Grégoire Jacquot ◽  
Amy Huynh ◽  
Ekaterina Kostioukhina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Policy Options ◽  
Similar Nature ◽  
Prison Staff ◽  
Virulent Strains ◽  
Reduce Risk ◽  
State Prisons ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
Virus Management

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, prisons have been the center of numerous outbreaks. Current efforts in virus containment have largely failed, due to a lack of standardized guidelines and reporting of key data regarding testing, cases, and deaths within state prisons. This article addresses challenges associated with pandemic management in prisons and policy options to reduce risk to inmates, prison staff, and the communities surrounding prisons. A comprehensive framework for evaluating a state prison’s virus management can facilitate improved responses, in particular amongst the rise of more virulent strains and ongoing cases. Such a framework may also serve as guidance in other situations of a similar nature.

scholarly journals Uptake of Covid–19 vaccines among frontline workers in California state prisons

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Prince ◽  
Elizabeth Long ◽  
David Studdert ◽  
David Leidner ◽  
Elizabeth T Chin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Healthcare Staff ◽  
California Department ◽  
Prison Staff ◽  
Frontline Staff ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Risk Environments ◽  
State Prisons

Background Prisons are high–risk environments for Covid–19. Vaccination levels among prison staff remain troublingly low – lower than levels among residents and members of the surrounding community. The situation is troubling because prison staff are a key vector for Covid–19 transmission. Objective To assess patterns and timing of staff vaccination in California state prisons and identify individual– and community–level factors associated with being unvaccinated. Design We calculated fractions of prison staff and incarcerated residents in California state prisons who remained unvaccinated. Adjusted analyses identified demographic, community, and peer factors associated with vaccination uptake among staff. Setting California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation prisons. Participants Custody and healthcare staff who worked in direct contact with residents. Main Outcomes and Measures Remaining unvaccinated through June 30, 2021. Results A total of 26 percent of custody staff and 52 percent of healthcare staff took ≥ 1 dose in the first two months of vaccine offer; uptake stagnated thereafter. By June 30, 2021, 61 percent of custody and 37 percent of healthcare staff remained unvaccinated. Remaining unvaccinated was positively associated with younger age, prior Covid–19, residing in a community with relatively low vaccination rates, and sharing shifts with co–workers who had relatively low vaccination rates. Conclusions and Relevance Vaccine uptake among prison staff in California in regular contact with incarcerated residents has plateaued at levels that pose ongoing risks – both of further outbreaks in the prisons and transmission into surrounding communities. Staff decisions to forego vaccination appear to be complex and multifactorial. Achieving safe levels of vaccine protection among frontline staff may necessitate requiring vaccination as condition of employment.

scholarly journals Risk of COVID-19 infection among prison staff in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn M. Nowotny ◽  
Kapriske Seide ◽  
Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Prison Population ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Prison Staff ◽  
Average Case ◽  
Inmate Population ◽  
Incarcerated Population ◽  
Substantial Heterogeneity ◽  
Cumulative Prevalence

Abstract Background Multiple large outbreaks of COVID-19 have been documented in prisons and jails across regions of the world, with hazardous environmental conditions amplify the risks of exposure for both incarcerated people and correctional staff. The objectives of this study are to estimate the cumulative prevalence of COVID-19 cases among U.S. prison staff over time and compare it to the prison inmate population and the general U.S. population, overall, and to examine risk of COVID-19 infection among prison staff across jurisdictions. Methods We use publicly available data (April 22, 2020 to January 15, 2021) to estimate COVID-19 crude case rates per 1000 with 95% confidence intervals over the study period for prison staff, incarcerated population, and general population. We also compare COVID-19 case rates between prison staff and the general population within jurisdictions. Results Over the study period, prison staff have reported consistently higher rates of COVID-19 compared to the general population, with prison staff case rates more closely mirroring the incarcerated population case rates. The rolling 7-day average case rates for prison staff, prison population, and general population on January 15, 2021 were 196.04 per 1000 (95%CI 194.81, 197.26), 219.16 (95%CI 218.45, 219.86), and 69.80 (95%CI 69.78, 69.83), respectively. There was substantial heterogeneity across jurisdictions, yet in 87% of study jurisdictions, the risk of COVID-19 was significantly greater among prison staff than the general state population. Conclusions Targeting staff for COVID-19 mitigation strategies is essential to protect the health of people who intersect with the correctional system and to flatten the curve in the surrounding communities.

Race, Staff, and Punishment: Representative Bureaucracy in American State Prisons

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (9) ◽  
pp. 1397-1424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremiah Wade-Olson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Solitary Confinement ◽  
Representative Bureaucracy ◽  
Correctional Staff ◽  
Prison Staff ◽  
State Prisons ◽  
High Level ◽  
Black Inmates ◽  
American State

A total of 1.5 million people are incarcerated in the United States’ prisons. Tens of thousands are placed in restrictive, solitary confinement units. Building on theories of representative bureaucracy, this article considers both the race of the inmates and the race of correctional staff. The article has three main findings: that minority prison staff have higher preferences for rehabilitation and lower preferences for punishment, that prisons with a high percentage of Black inmates utilize punishment at higher rates, and that representation, in the form of Black staff, helps ameliorate the high level of punishment associated with a high percentage of Black inmates.

Administrative Justice in the Penitentiary: A Report on Inmate Grievance Procedures

1982 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Jan Brakel
Keyword(s):  
Prison Staff ◽  
Grievance Procedures ◽  
Inmate Population ◽  
Maximum Security ◽  
State Prisons ◽  
The Way ◽  
Administrative Justice

The majority of prisons today have an internal grievance mechanism that gives inmates an opportunity to air complaints and seek solutions to individual and institution-wide problems. This study reports on the way the mechanism functions at two Illinois state prisons—one minimum security and one maximum security. The main findings are: (1) that the mechanism is heavily and repetitively used by only a portion of the inmate population, (2) that the grievances filed range widely in type as well as in merit, although it is clear that there is much frivolous activity, (3) that inmates win only a small percentage of their cases, either at the first-instance level or on appeal, and (4) that among both line prison staff (at least at one of the prisons) and inmates there is considerable dissatisfaction with the process, although a minority of prisoners and the higher echelon prison administrators can be counted on for more favorable assessments. The article goes on to compare these findings with the generally articulated objectives of the grievance process and concludes with a series of suggestions that have been made for improving its workings.

Defining a risk-informed framework for whole-of-government lessons learned: A Canadian perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 219
Author(s):  
Shaye K. Friesen, MA ◽  
Shelley Kelsey, PhD ◽  
J. A. (Jim) Legere, BA, MDS
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
International Programs ◽  
Canadian Perspective ◽  
Event Response ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
After Action Reviews

Lessons learned play an important role in emergency management (EM) and organizational agility. Virtually all aspects of EM can derive benefit from a lessons learned program. From major security events to exercises, exploiting and applying lessons learned and “best practices” is critical to organizational resilience and adaptiveness. A robust lessons learned process and methodology provides an evidence base with which to inform decisions, guide plans, strengthen mitigation strategies, and assist in developing tools for operations. The Canadian Safety and Security Program recently supported a project to define a comprehensive framework that would allow public safety and security partners to regularly share event response best practices, and prioritize recommendations originating from after action reviews. This framework consists of several inter-locking elements: a comprehensive literature review/environmental scan of international programs; a survey to collect data from end users and management; the development of a taxonomy for organizing and structuring information; a risk-informed methodology for selecting, prioritizing, and following through on recommendations; and standardized templates and tools for tracking recommendations and ensuring implementation. This article discusses the efforts of the project team, which provided “best practice” advice and analytical support to ensure that a systematic approach to lessons learned was taken by the federal community to improve prevention, preparedness, and response activities. It posits an approach by which one might design a systematic process for information sharing and event response coordination—an approach that will assist federal departments to institutionalize a cross-government lessons learned program.

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