Michigan has been a national hot spot for COVID-19 infections in prisons. As of June 22, 2020, Michigan had the third highest case rate and second highest death rate among all states and the federal prison system. On March 29, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-29, in which she strongly encouraged jail and juvenile facilities across the state to urgently decrease populations and ordered a stop to all transfers into state prison facilities. As of June 10, the average daily population of Michigan’s county jails had decreased by an average of 45.2 percent in the counties Vera received data from (51 of the 83 counties, representing more than two-thirds of the state’s population). The state prison population has decreased by less than 6 percent.

Below you’ll find a set of tools for tracking how Michigan’s criminal justice system is responding to the crisis. In addition to the resources on this page, Vera created a series of guidance briefs on bold changes government agencies can take to respond to COVID-19 in the criminal justice system.

Data Sources: Jail population data is collected by Vera. COVID-19 case data is from the New York Times. Prison population data is from the Michigan Department of Corrections. Prison COVID-19 case and death data is from the Marshall Project.

Detroit

Below you’ll find a set of tools for tracking how Detroit’s criminal justice system is responding to the crisis, including current data on incidents reported to the police, arrests, and the number of people held in the jail.

Resources

Detroit and Wayne County

• Covid-19 City Resources
  (City of Detroit)
• As Coronavirus Surges, Crime Declines in Some Cities
  (The Marshall Project)
• Wayne County Jail Report
  (Vera Institute of Justice)

Michigan

• Guidance briefs: Coronavirus Guidance for the Criminal and Immigration Legal Systems
  (Vera Institute of Justice)
• Michigan Justice Response: COVID-19
• Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration
• MDOC Presentation on Prison Population Decreases due to COVID-19

National

• Coronavirus Tracker: How Justice Systems Are Responding in Each State
  Compare your county's COVID-19 population decreases to the changes in other counties. (The Marshall Project)
• COVID–19 Incarceration Model
  A data tool to model the spread and impact of COVID-19 among incarcerated people in different jurisdictions. (Recidiviz)
• Up-to-Date U.S. Prison and Jail Population
  (End Incarceration)
• National Jail Population Database
  (Vera Institute of Justice)
• COVID-19 Policy Shifts
  (Justice Collaborative)
• Recommendations for Youth Justice Systems During the Covid-19 Emergency
  (Youth Correctional Leaders for Justice)
• COVID-19 Law Enforcement Impact Dashboard
  (National Police Foundation)
• COVID-19 Behind Bars
• Resources for Correctional and Detention Facilities
  (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Guidance briefs: Coronavirus Guidance for the Criminal and Immigration Legal Systems
  (Vera Institute of Justice)
• Tracking COVID-19 Rates in Jails and Prisons
  (UCLA)