HELP US END MASS INCARCERATION
The Prison Policy Initiative uses research, advocacy, and organizing to dismantle mass incarceration. We’ve been in this movement for 24 years, thanks to individual donors like you.
Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
Book chapters by PPI staff:
Phantom Constituents in the 2012 Election, by Peter Wagner and Leah Sakala in Atlas of the 2012 Elections, edited by J. Clark Archer, Robert H. Watrel, Fiona Davidson, Erin H. Fouberg, Kenneth C. Martis, Richard L. Morrill, Fred M. Shelley, Gerald R. Webster (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014) 
Prisons, Politics and the Census, by Gary Hunter and Peter Wagner in Prison Profiteers: Who Makes Money from Mass Incarceration, edited by Tara Herivel and Paul Wright (The New Press, 2008)
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U.S. Prison Proliferation, 1900-2004 (map) by Rose Heyer in Warfare in the American Homeland: Policing and Prison in a Penal Democracy, edited by Joy James (Duke University Press, 2007).
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Skewing Democracy: Where the Census Counts Prisoners, by Peter Wagner in
Poverty & Race in America: The Emerging Agenda, edited by Chester Hartman (Lexington Books, 2006).
Recommended Reading:
Tracking Trump's criminal legal system moves
The Administration is making America's criminal legal system harsher, less effective, and even more unjust.
Research Library
We curate a searchable database of 4,000+ original research reports, organizing each entry by topic and adding brief summaries.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates nearly 2 million people. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
Bad Behavior
This national report explains how prison disciplinary policies manufacture misconduct and severly punish incarcerated people.
Events
- July 1, 2026:
On July 1, 2026 at 1 p.m. EST, join the Prison Policy Initiative and guests Jodi Hocking, Executive Director of Return Strong Nevada, and Taj Mahon-Haft PhD, Director of The Humanization Project, as they discuss the importance of family connections, highlight the ways they are under attack, and share strategies to help families fight back.
Register here
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.