UCLA Law
COVID Behind Bars Data Project
We collect and analyze public information about the coronavirus pandemic in prisons, jails, youth facilities, and immigration detention centers across the United States. Our centralized source of data enables greater oversight of and accountability for carceral institutions’ responses to the pandemic behind bars. We also record legal and community responses to the crisis, including mass releases, legal filings, court orders, and organizing efforts.
Since the start of the pandemic, prisons and ICE detention centers across the U.S. have reported at least:
627,407
total cumulative cases among incarcerated people
3,132
total cumulative deaths among incarcerated people
227,396
total cumulative cases among staff
309
total cumulative deaths among staff
Showing in carceral facilities
Each spike represents the number incarcerated people who currently have COVID-19
1
86
170
This map displays reported COVID-19 cases and related deaths of people incarcerated in carceral facilities across the US. Click on a state to access more data.
Rates and active cases are not available for all facilities. Learn why.
Facilities with the highest
| Cumulative Cases | Active Cases | Cumulative Deaths | Tests | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facility | Count | Per 10k | Count | Per 10k | Count | Per 10k | Count | Per 10k | |
Ironwood State Prison | 2,771 | 9,568 | 171 | 590 | 1 | 3 | -- | -- | |
California Correctional Center | 2,436 | 6,016 | 150 | 370 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | |
Los Angeles Jails | 9,975 | 5,842 | 146 | 86 | 20 | 12 | 136,490 | 79,931 | |
Maricopa County Jail | 4,762 | 8,975 | 140 | 264 | 0 | 0 | 66,832 | 125,956 | |
ICE Karnes County Residential Center | 3,085 | 342,778 | 117 | 13,000 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | |
COVID-19 Vaccines in State and Federal Prisons
This table reflects data publicly reported by state and federal correctional agencies about the administration of COVID-19 vaccines to incarcerated people and staff in their facilities. The data reported here generally refer to people who have received at least one dose of a vaccine. There are some exceptions, noted with a flag, when agencies report only the number of people who have completed their vaccination schedules, and not the number of people partially vaccinated. Staff are generally not required to report their vaccination status to their employers, so the total numbers of staff who are vaccinated may be higher.
View our data on Github| Jurisdiction | Vaccination Rate for Incarcerated People | Vaccination Rate for Staff Members |
|---|---|---|
| 113% | -- | |
| 98% | 49% | |
| 92% | 62% | |
| 91% | 83% | |
| 87% | 72% | |
Showing among
in No facilities selected (click to add)
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Recent Updates
August 4th, 2022
Sentencing Commission Data Provides Comprehensive Confirmation of Paltry Compassionate Release Rates During the Pandemic
In May of this year, the U.S. Sentencing Commission released its latest data report, revealing disturbing trends in federal courts’ responses to compassionate release motions filed in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, as well as equally troubling explanations for those trends.
August 4th, 2022
Notes on Incomplete Datasets From the Project’s Early Days
Many of the data sets we began crafting in pandemic early days continued to grow and have ultimately proved crucial to efforts by advocates, journalists, activists, academics and other stakeholders to make sense of the impact of COVID on people in custody and on the people who work in carceral settings. But not all our initial data-gathering efforts had staying power.
June 14th, 2022
The Pandemic Revealed the Failure of Geriatric Parole "Reform" in Nevada
In 2019, a bill was introduced in Nevada to comprehensively reform the state's geriatric parole system and allow more aging people out of prison. But following its implementation during pandemic, just six people were found eligible -- and zero received a parole hearing.
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