COVID-19’s Impact on Crime and Delinquency

Abstract

The economies and social systems of communities and nations have been altered by COVID-19 (Best et al., 2021; Priya et al., 2021). Substantial evidence continues to mount regarding the widespread impacts of COVID-19 on criminal behavior and criminal justice response to crime (Balmori de la Miyar et al., 2021; Lallie et al., 2021). Undoubtedly, the pandemic has altered crime rates, the operations of the criminal and juvenile justice systems, policing practices, and the availability of health and social resources (Abrams, 2021; Buchanan et al., 2020; Desai et al., 2021; Langton et al., 2021; Semukhina, 2021). COVID-19 mandates continue to create major disruptions in daily life of all persons involved in the criminal justice system from youth in detention to correctional officers. For example, diminished personal and community connections due to the pandemic has disrupted the lives of detained individuals and criminal justice professionals tasked with their supervision (Buchanan et al., 2020; Lockwood et al., 2021; Schwalbe & Koetzle, 2021). Concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19 in correctional facilities have resulted in changes in detention protocols and rates of early release (Abraham et al., 2020; Hamblett et al., 2022; Henry, 2020; Surprenant, 2020). Mandated responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have altered the