The impacts of COVID-19 on crime and justice continue to unfold amid a social justice reckoning and calls for significant reform in criminal justice around the world. Among the questions that have arisen: What has been the impact, if any, of COVID-19 on the quality of justice during this period? Did the pandemic exacerbate already-challenged areas of criminal justice response such as family and domestic violence or criminal gang activity? Did the pandemic provide opportunities for new crime categories and quell others? Did COVID-related restrictions reveal new insights into police-community interactions? How did the pandemic affect those under criminal justice supervision?
These questions and more are being addressed by scholars from the American Society of Criminology in a special issue of Criminology & Public Policy , the flagship policy and practice issue of the society, edited by Cynthia Lum and Christopher Koper at George Mason University.
In the introduction to the special issue, Alex R. Piquero, professor of sociology at the University of Miami, discusses the effects of COVID-19 on the criminal justice system. He highlights a nonexistent policy playbook and initial response to the virus by the criminal justice system and discusses various decisions and lessons learned as the system dealt with the outbreak with little or constantly changing guidance from state and federal officials.
The special issue also features seven articles, including:
Criminology & Public Policy
17-Nov-2021