Correctional System’s Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Its Implications for Prison Reform in China

ABSTRACT

Large outbreaks of coronavirus infections occurred in several prisons in China in February 2020. Since then, the authorities on the national and local levels have introduced a series of measures to prevent more COVID-19 infections in correctional institutions. This article reviews those strategies and explores their ties to past prison reforms and their potential influences on future directions. First, it provides an overview of the changes in prison management and operation that foreshadowed some of China’s approaches to COVID-19 in the prison system. Second, it examines the strategies undertaken by the prison system to stop the spread of COVID-19. Finally, the article discusses the implications of the COVID-19 response for prison reforms and the challenges the Chinese prison system faces in its continuous efforts to contain COVID-19.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• coronavirus
• prison
• public health
• risk assessment
• China
• Pandemic
• Alternatives to incarceration
• Early release mechanisms
• Prison reform

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1. Grid management has been under development as a system of social control in China since 2013. In the prison setting, this system applies risk assessment to categorize prison inmates and places them in a network of supervision and control to promote management efficiency. Beijing Bureau of Prisons (2016) provides a good review of this strategy.