An Examination of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Prisons and Jails Throughout Asia

ABSTRACT

This article highlights regional variation in the extent of COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons throughout Asia. Stark differences in the utilization of front-end, in-prison, and back-end mitigation strategies designed to prevent and control COVID-19 outbreaks in these prison systems are identified. We conclude by offering our assessment of the nature and (true) extent of COVID-19 outbreaks within countries and across the region; and in the process, we offer a tentative explanation for the large variation we have found in the response to reported COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons and communities across Asia.

KEYWORD:

• COVID-19
• Pandemic
• Alternatives to incarceration
• Early release mechanisms
• Prison reform
• international, prisons, corrections

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The Asian countries within the world’s 50 largest prison systems include China (ranked 2nd), India (ranked 5th), Thailand (ranked 6th), Iran (ranked 8th), Indonesia (ranked 9th), Philippines (ranked 10th), Vietnam (ranked 13th), Myanmar (ranked 19th), Bangladesh (ranked 20th), Pakistan (ranked 23rd), Malaysia (ranked 25th), Saudi Arabia (ranked 29th), Taiwan (ranked 30st), South Korea (ranked 37th), Japan (ranked 41st), Iraq (ranked 42nd), and Cambodia (ranked 48th; World Prison Brief, 2020).

2. Detailed country-specific reviews are included in this volume.

3. Some have attributed the lower rates of infection reported in China’s prisons to the ability of the central government’s authoritarian regime to respond decisively to early outbreaks. See Li and Liu (this volume) for a more detailed discussion.

4. See Table 2 for more details on China’s mitigation strategies toward COVID-19 in its prison system.

5. See Table 2 for more details on India’s mitigation strategies in addressing COVID-19 in its prisons.

6. See Kinner et al. (2020).

7. Examples of countries that have not adopted this back-end mitigation strategy within this region include China and Pakistan.