State’s plans for prisoner release are inadequate

This week, the Department of Correction released its plans to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 in Connecticut. As a physician, it is terrifying to see that these plans are inadequate to protect our communities. Current strategies include emphasizing cleaning in facilities and altering movement patterns within and between facilities. Visitation and volunteers will be suspended and employees will be screened with temperature checks. However, plans for releasing inmates are expected to function under “existing protocols.”

The current pandemic calls for leadership that is not afraid to take necessary actions to save lives. The government needs to make plans to systematically reduce the prison population. Utilizing standard protocols is simply is not enough.

People in correctional settings live in overcrowded conditions, with limited access to cleaning and hygiene products in poorly ventilated buildings. These conditions are a breeding ground for a communicable disease outbreak, particularly when the disease of concern is one as highly contagious as Covid-19. Unfortunately, people who are incarcerated have little control over their ability to access cleaning products and have no ability to practice social distancing. Instead they are living in small cells hoping that no one in the building has been exposed. Once someone is exposed, it is likely to become an outbreak quickly.

An outbreak in a correctional setting is dangerous for two main reasons. First, it is likely to cause serious illness and death among those within the facility. The CDC identifies those age 65 and older and those with certain medical conditions as being at higher risk of serious illness. Prison populations are known to have have high rates of chronic medical conditions. The prison population is also aging, which means a significant number of incarcerated people are over the age of 65.

Second, because of the severity of the illness, an outbreak in correctional settings will increase the workload placed on an already burdened community health care setting. Once an outbreak begins, many people will be too ill to be treated in correctional settings and will require transfer to a hospital. This will increase the need for correctional officers to transport and monitor those that are hospitalized, putting further correctional staff at risk of exposure.

With the first case identified in a DOC employee at Garner Correctional Institution and the number of cases growing in the New York correctional system, the time to act is now. It is imperative that the Department of Corrections and the Board of Pardons and Paroles take action to release as many currently incarcerated people as possible. Individuals who are identified to be at high risk of serious illness should be a priority. People who are near the end of their sentence or incarcerated for non-violent offenses should also be considered for release.

It is critical that this action be taken in coordination with community partners to release inmates with adequate reentry services before an outbreak occurs. In public health, preventative measures perform better than reactive measures. Waiting for an outbreak before expanding release options is irresponsible and places both the incarcerated population and community at risk.

By Dr. Jessica Chaffkin is in the Psychiatry Department at the Yale School of Medicine.