A leaked memo from a detention center in the United States advises prison staff that it will no longer be arresting and holding certain suspects as a result of the coronavirus.
The memo was leaked on social media platform Telegram and is marked “not for public release.” The name of the detention center has been redacted.
The memo states that “until further notice” the detention center will “only accept arrest and physically hold for” felonies, domestic violence charges and DWI.
All arrestees in these categories will have their temperatures taken and be placed in the “Drunk Tank” until they can be quarantined.
“All other arrest brought into the facility will be given a court date and released,” adds the memo.
This follows an announcement by police in Philadelphia that they would “delay” the arrests of car thieves, robbers, burglars, vandals, prostitutes and more to reduce the risk of officers getting coronavirus.
“Instead, suspects will be temporarily detained while officers can verify their identification. If they are not deemed a threat, they will be released and a warrant will be prepared for a future arrest,” reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Some people have reacted to the news by drawing comparisons to The Purge, an apocalyptic movie in which all crimes are made legal for a 12-hour period once a year.
One major difference it seems is that in Philly and possibly elsewhere, this will last a lot longer than 12 hours.
Someone is driving around playing the purge alarm during the quarantine ?pic.twitter.com/hIbmo5kRAC
— Taylor Swift Facts (@teaandfacts123) March 17, 2020
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