Nashville's Criminal Justice System and COVID-19: Arrests and the jail population in a time of crisis

COVID-19 is a highly contagious virus that is causing a global pandemic. Detention facilities are an easy place for the virus to take hold because many people are housed in small, confined spaces. Additionally, many people in jails are at high risk of complications due to underlying health conditions. Jails across the nation have made efforts to decrease their population in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.l The jail population is influenced by the steps that precede incarceration in the criminal justice system.