Jails and prisons have become hotbeds of COVID-19 outbreaks. Various policies, such as improving access to medical care for inmates, providing soap and hand sanitizer to improve hygiene, and releasing some inmates to facilitate social distancing, have been proposed as ways to mitigate the spread of the virus in these facilities. Across 2 studies, we examined the factors underlying support for policies aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19 in jails (n = 132) and prisons (n = 125) and yielded 3 key findings. Factors found in prior research to be associated with desire for punitive responses—namely, negative attitudes toward offenders and, to a lesser extent, lack of trust in the criminal justice system—were found to underlie lack of support for all types of COVID-19 mitigation policies. Concern related to COVID-19—namely, perceptions of personal risk of contracting the virus—was related to increased support for policies to curb the spread of the virus among inmates. Social media consumption and reliance on social media for news regarding COVID-19 demonstrated inconsistent relationships with support for policies. These findings suggest that factors related to support for harsh treatment of offenders and concerns related to the present situation both contribute to support for criminal justice policy during a crisis situation like a pandemic. The recommended policies offer hope for reducing the negative impact of COVID-19 among justice-involved people. We offer suggestions on tailoring messaging to improve public support for these policies.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted existing disparities in healthcare and public policies in the United States. Although measures such as social distancing and hygiene behaviors have been advocated for, many were impossible to do for certain populations, leaving them at greater risk of contracting and spreading the virus. Conditions in immigration detention facilities have long been criticized, but deficiencies in sanitation and safety exponentiated the spread of COVID-19 in these facilities. The current studies assess the primary factors that underlie support of policies designed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in immigration detention centers. We hypothesized that fear of COVID may overtake attitudes towards immigrants in predictive strength of policy support. Data gathered in Summer of 2020 (n=141) and Spring of 2021 (n=137) were analyzed using regression analyses to identify attitudes and variables most predictive of policy support. Contrary to our hypothesis, perceived risk of COVID-19 did not predict attitudes in either study. Rather, results indicate that attitudes towards immigrants proved to be the most significant predictor of support for these policies. The results indicate that negative attitudes towards immigrants remain the most impactful factors in support of policies aimed at reducing illness and death, even during a worldwide pandemic.