Responding to an urgent need for leadership in the face of the dire challenges confronting all areas of criminal justice systems worldwide, ILAC member International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) has frequently convened its global community and subsequently formulated a three-pronged set of guidelines for criminal justice administrations and organisations. The aim is to promote common goals for continued access to justice as well as protection against the pandemic. IBJ advises:
1) To practice community-centred policing by issuing warnings to persons violating curfew instead of arrest and detention.
2) To decongest detention facilities and prisons through the use of free bail for persons accused of non-violent/minor offences.
3) To preserve courts as protectors of justice by maintaining court access for hearings while instituting public safety protections.
For further details, see the IBJ website: https://www.ibj.org/covid-19/suggested-guidelines/.
