Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
What’s New
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Research roundup: Youth incarceration can cause lasting damage to mental health
Young people with mental health conditions are often criminalized, yet detaining youth can lead to new or worsened mental health problems. In turn, youth incarceration leads to worse outcomes in adulthood, including depression, suicidality, and deeper criminal legal system involvement.
November 12: Briefings
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Advocates warn Census Bureau about fatal flaws in proposed new residence criteria
The Census Bureau proposes a major rewrite of residence criteria across the board, ensuring an inaccurate 2030 Census. We oppose the proposal to keep counting incarcerated people at a facility instead of at home, and highlight the additional flaws with the proposed new language.
November 5: Prisoners of the Census Blog
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A state-by-state analysis of legislative frameworks for mental health programming in correctional facilities
by Jennifer Wyatt Bourgeois, Dragana Derlic, & Stuti S. Kokkalera
November 3: Research Library: Mental health
Featured report
Following the Money of Mass Incarceration 2026
In this groundbreaking report, the Prison Policy Initiative aggregates economic data to offer a big picture view of who pays for and who benefits when millions of people are behind bars.
Mass incarceration, state by state
Learn about the national prison crisis and how we can begin to turn the tide on mass incarceration. Then, drill down to your state. Be sure to also check out our pages focused on D.C., and the incarceration of Native people.
Select your state:
If our work is new to you, you might want to check out our 2025-2026 annual report.
Recommended Reading:
Advocacy Toolkit
Resources, tips, and best practices to help advocates working to end mass incarceration.
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates nearly 2 million people. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
Events
- November 18-21, 2026:
Members of our Research team, will be attending the American Society of Criminology annual meeting in Chicago from November 18th through the 21st. Please reach out if you’d like to set up a meeting.
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.