As various organizations, agencies and governments execute contingency plans to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, San Francisco’s public defender is encouraging fewer arrest and jail detentions for non-violent offenders in order to avoid unnecessary risk so that those who are detained are not put in any danger.

“As we all follow recommendations to avoid congregating and preserving more personal distance than usual,” public defender Manohar Raju wrote in a letter to police chief Bill Scott, “We must be especially mindful to reduce criminal legal system contact to the greatest extent possible, while also upholding the duty to protect public safety.”

In the letter, Raju requested that Scott execute a cessation in citing people for minor infractions, non-violent felonies and low-level misdemeanors who do not risk public safety, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

On Monday, Raju asked San Francisco sheriff Paul Miyamoto for his assistance in securing the release of possibly vulnerable non-violent inmates. 

Miyamoto has created an action plan to prevent the spread of the virus, which includes heightened screening procedures for those in custody.

“We screen every person for infectious diseases as part of the jail booking process,” Dr. Lisa Pratt, medical director of Jail Health Services, wrote in a statement. “In addition, we have instituted enhanced screening and isolation procedures to rapidly identify and separate any person with concerning symptoms.”

According to the Examiner, Raju also requested a plan from police to prevent coronavirus infection from things like handcuffs and in police cars and holding cells.

For the latest on the coronavirus, contact your local health department and visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.