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DOJ Report: Jail Population Plummeted Amid Pandemic

The DOJ released a report this week saying local jails held 185,400 fewer people in June of 2020 than the year prior.
Posted at 11:19 AM, Mar 11, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-11 13:19:36-05

The U.S. jail population plummeted in 2020 because of population control methods due to the pandemic.

The Department Of Justice released a report this week saying local jails held 185,400 fewer people in June of 2020 than the year prior.

The report also showed a 44% overall drop in people jailed over misdemeanors from 2019 to 2020.

Jail population numbers haven't been this low since 1990.

People pushing for reforms hope this is the start of a new era in a country that jails more people than anywhere else in the world.

But toward the end of 2020 figures were already starting to go up. 


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