Category: Media Reports

Current public health efforts to address COVID-19 in carceral facilities have ignored the voices of those trapped with COVID-19 while incarcerated.

The Harvard-based Liberation Lab has developed a survey in partnership with formerly incarcerated people to give voice to those who are incarcerated during the pandemic. In the words of Angela Davis “prisons do not disappear problems, they disappear human beings,” and lack of transparency is a familiar strategy to hide oppression and structural violence.

What is the study?

• Collecting information on conditions of confinement experienced by those who are incarcerated
• The survey can bring to light the inhumane conditions incarcerated people are facing
• Information collected by a short, anonymous, online survey

Who is eligible?

• Formerly incarcerated adults, freed after March 2020
• Any adult in communication with someone who is currently incarcerated

View preliminary results of the survey here

Currently, CPP publishes five primary variables to the public: incarcerated positive, incarcerated tested, incarcerated deaths, staff positive, and staff deaths. However, we have been collecting all data reported by state Department of Corrections (DOC) since April of 2020. This includes additional variables such as the number of incarcerated people who have recovered from COVID-19 and the number of current active cases of COVID-19. We have been in the process of thoroughly cleaning this larger dataset, addressing discrepancies in the data, and contacting DOC’s for clarification on variables they are reporting.

In preparation for the release of this important dataset, we wanted to share several disclaimers and provide links to documents that keep track of the definitions we are using and inconsistencies in reporting:

1. We sometimes have to perform our own calculations for cumulative variables. For example, for some systems, we calculate positive cases by combining the number of reported active and recovered cases. Our data dictionary keeps a record of how each DOC defines these variables and how CPP defines these variables. The data dictionary also keeps track of any changes in data reporting and any facilities excluded by CPP (for example, parole facilities that do not house incarcerated people overnight).
2. We also have a daily running data log that keeps track of data discrepancies and data entry errors when they arise. Any errors are rectified immediately and any changes in data reporting are recorded in our data dictionary.
3. There have been several cases where cumulative data will decrease on the DOC’s website. When this occurs, we reach out to DOC’s for explanation. Sometimes, we get a response indicating that this change was due to a data entry error on their part or a change in how they are reporting a certain variable. Most of the time, we do not get a response and must leave the data as reported by each DOC.

We are looking forward to reaching this milestone for the Covid Prison Project! If you have any questions or comments about how we are recording and reporting our data, feel free to contact us at healthandjustice@unc.edu.