Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Study: NJ’s early prison releases to ease crowding during COVID didn’t raise public safety risks
By
Karen Yi
Published Jun 17, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Karen Yi
Published Jun 17, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A quarter of the more than 2,000 people who were released early from New Jersey’s prisons on the first day of a pandemic-era law enacted to ease crowding were rearrested within a year, a new study from a team of Rutgers University researchers found.
Among the 2,088 people released on November 4th, 2020, there were 782 subsequent arrests — a recidivism rate of 25.1%, lead researcher Todd R. Clear said. Some were accused of reoffending more than once. That's slightly higher than — but generally on par with — recidivism rates for incarcerated people released prior to the pandemic. The study, which was submitted to a state legislative commission, found the impact to public safety was negligible.
“The likelihood of a person getting in trouble is not affected by these small adjustments in their length of stay,” said Clear, a university professor at Rutgers who specializes in criminal justice.
Researchers examined the state’s Public Health Emergency Credits Act, which allowed people within a year of their release dates to get out up to eight months early during the pandemic. The first-in-the-nation measure released more than 5,000 adults and juveniles over two years and cut the prison population by a third.
“The question is: did the Public Health Emergency Act change the level of risk to the community by releasing people a few months early? And the answer, we believe, is no,” said Clear, who compiled the study for the New Jersey Commission on Sentencing and Criminal Dispositions last month.
Under the early release law, incarcerated people could earn public health credits, or reductions in their sentence due to the pandemic, while the state remained under a public health emergency.
The first group of incarcerated people were released in November 2020, with releases continuing through October 2021. Releases resumed again this February after Gov. Phil Murphy redeclared a public health emergency due to rising COVID case numbers during winter’s omicron wave.
The Department of Corrections said 2,049 people were released this year and another 179 received credits and are pending release. A spokesman declined to comment on the Rutgers report.
The likelihood of a person getting in trouble is not affected by these small adjustments in their length of stay
Todd R. Clear, Rutgers professor
The Rutgers researchers looked at the first cohort of releases from November and found the rearrest rate was 25.1%, the same as those released in 2016 but higher than the 20.9% arrest rate in 2020 before the law took effect. They also found about 11% of rearrests were drug-related, 8.7% for simple assault and 5.7% for theft.
Clear said the early release cohort tended to be younger than their comparison groups and a large number of them were imprisoned on drug-related charges. His study follows an analysis by Gothamist in January that found that, of the first waves of releases in November and December, 9% were back in custody within a year. That was lower than New Jersey’s overall pre-pandemic, one-year reincarceration rate of 16%, according to the Vera Institute of Justice, a national criminal justice group based in New York.
Commission chair Deborah Poritz didn’t return a request for comment on the report. William Sullivan, president of NJ PBA Local 105, which represents correctional officers, said the union doesn’t typically comment on these policies and focuses on the well-being of its members.
Tagged
COVID-19
new jersey
prison
Karen Yi
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Early Addition: Spy magazine is doing a Substack pop-up
Because the "Irony Epidemic" is hitting inboxes in honor of Spy's 40th anniversary, here are your early links: West Village gated school street, Trump still promising $5,000 checks, butter is in and more.
By
James Ramsay
Published Oct 6, 2026 at 8:57 a.m. ET
Bronx woman found dead and infant in critical condition after balcony fall, NYPD says
Police say it's still unclear whether the pair jumped, fell or were pushed.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
Bronx woman found dead and infant in critical condition after balcony fall, NYPD says
Police say it's still unclear whether the pair jumped, fell or were pushed.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
After Trump defunding, thousands losing rental assistance in NYC may finally have relief
By
David Brand
Blind man dismissed from grand jury duty can sue NY for discrimination, judge rules
By
Samantha Max
Gatorade recall affects drinks sold in New York and New Jersey
By
Giulia Heyward
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .