Responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, the British Journal of Community Justice has published it first commentary on institutional responses to the crisis. In his new paper Christopher Kay has reviewed the implementation of policies designed to limit the spread of Covid-19 in prisons in England and Wales.

Drawing on evidence from public health and social policy research, he concludes that:

“COVID-19 poses a real and present threat to the lives of all those involved with the prison system – staff and prisoners alike. The policies attempting to mitigate the spread of the disease throughout the prison estate have been both untimely and ill-informed.”

And that:

“If prisons serve as epidemiological pumps to the communities within which they are located, reducing the potential for transmission within the prison system itself is of utmost importance.”