No one should be forced to live in conditions that imperil their lives during this public health crisis. We must immediately reduce the number of children and adults in juvenile hall, jails and immigration detention centers.

During this pandemic we must ensure that the health and safety of every individual in our community is prioritized, especially our community members who are incarcerated in juvenile hall and jails that are potential hotbeds for a COVID-19 outbreak. Mass incarceration not only risks the lives of people in the system; it also risks the lives of people who work in these facilities, their families and their communities.

We need to prioritize public health by limiting the influx of people into our criminal justice system and reduce the number of people in juvenile hall and jails by releasing people who are at-risk of dying from the virus. Detention should not be a death sentence.

For those who remain incarcerated during the pandemic, adequate safety precautions (social distancing measures, PPE, sanitary supplies), and access to medical care, legal counsel and family members should be readily provided. Those who remain incarcerated should also have access to free phone calls to stay in touch with their loved ones.

Finally, law enforcement should deprioritize low-level offenses and avoid making arrests or giving citations in an effort to both limit the exposure for officers while also protecting the people that they might come into contact with. This is especially true for interactions with people experiencing homelessness who should not be ticketed or towed for quality of life offenses. Law enforcement should engage people through inquiry and education, not through punishment.

COVID-19 is fundamentally an issue of public health, not law enforcement, and should be treated as such.  

Catch up on the recording of our June 11 webinar, Decarceration as a Response to COVID-19, here.

(Return to our Flatten the Curve of Inequality issue area hub)

---

TAKE ACTION

Contact leaders in San Diego and Imperial Counties!

Demand that law enforcement and immigration leaders release youth and adults in jail and detention! Send messages to the District Attorney, Sheriff, ICE Field Office Director, and Chief Probation Officer in... San Diego County | Imperial County

Get the word out!

1. Save the graphic(s) below to your device.
2. Copy and paste one of the options below into a new post on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else (or click here for a jump start on a Tweet):
   1. Social distancing isn't an option in a detention center or jail. No one, whether they are a citizen or an immigrant, should be forced to live in conditions that imperil their lives during this health crisis. #ReleaseThemAll #FlattenTheCurveOfInequality https://actionnetwork.org/forms/flatten-the-curve-of-inequality-keeping-communities-safe
   2. We need to reduce the incarcerated population and release our youth in custody, high-risk populations, including the elderly and sick and people in pretrial detention. #FlattenTheCurveOfInequality https://actionnetwork.org/forms/flatten-the-curve-of-inequality-keeping-communities-safe
3. Tag whoever you think needs to see your post or take action, including but not limited to your elected representatives! Let them know if you're a constituent or have ties to their district!
4. Don't forget to attach the graphic(s) before you hit the 'post' button!