Articles by Brian Nam-Sonenstein
- Here’s what’s on our data wishlist for 2025
Criminal legal system data is important to understanding how the system operates, but it’s highly limited, inaccessible, outdated, and fractured across thousands of jurisdictions. We spotlight some of the most persistent data gaps we came across in 2024.
Dec 19, 2024 - Why jails and prisons can’t recruit their way out of the understaffing crisis
Jails and prisons across the country have record-high vacancies, creating bad working conditions for corrections staff and nightmarish living conditions for incarcerated people. Why haven’t pay raises, benefits, and new facilities turned recruitment around, and what does that tell us about the state of mass incarceration?
Dec 9, 2024 - 10 ways that mass incarceration is an engine of economic injustice
The fight for a fair economy and the movement against prisons are one and the same.
Aug 27, 2024 - Research roundup: Evidence that a single day in jail causes immediate and long-lasting harms
Recent research suggests the onset of pretrial detention’s criminal legal system, social, and economic harms is earlier than previously thought.
Aug 6, 2024 - Donald Trump can still be president, but he could be barred from being a bartender, car salesman — or real estate developer
The former president’s conviction spotlights how state policies make it hard for people with felony convictions to find good jobs.
Jun 5, 2024 - Research spotlight: PrisonOversight.org equips the fight for accountability in jails and prisons
The United States' massive practice of incarceration goes almost entirely unchecked. This new resource aims to change that by centralizing news, educational resources, legislative updates, and more to support movements for independent corrections oversight.
Mar 25, 2024 - New reentry simulator highlights the perils of life after prison
"ReEntry" was created by formerly incarcerated people to communicate the contradictions, difficult decisions, and unexpected events that make staying out of prison nearly impossible for people under community supervision.
Dec 5, 2023 - New resource: Prison discipline policies
Our collection of prison discipline policies covers all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and highlights how each system classifies the severity of offenses and punishments.
Oct 17, 2023 - Seeking shelter from mass incarceration: Fighting criminalization with Housing First
Providing unconditional housing with embedded services can reduce chronic homelessness, reduce incarceration, and improve quality of life – especially for people experiencing substance use disorder and mental illness.
Sep 11, 2023 - High stakes mistakes: How courts respond to “failure to appear”
Research shows that while most people who miss court are not dangerous or evading justice, the way courts treat “failure to appear” may make our communities less safe.
Aug 15, 2023 - Breaking news from inside: How prisons suppress prison journalism
Building on data from the Prison Journalism Project, we find that most states enforce restrictions that make practicing journalism extremely difficult and sometimes risky.
Jun 15, 2023 - Unhoused and under arrest: How Atlanta polices poverty
New research from the Atlanta Community Support Project finds 1 in 8 city jail bookings involve a person experiencing homelessness
Jun 8, 2023
Recommended Reading:
The unmet health needs of people in prison
States fall far short of their duty to meet the health needs of incarcerated people.
All profit, no risk
The bail industry exploits cracks and loopholes in the legal system to avoid accountability, while growing its profits.
Compare your state's use of the prison to the world at large
Criminal justice policy in every region of the United States is out of step with the rest of the world.
Prison Gerrymandering Project
We are leading the movement to protect our democracy from the Census Bureau's prison miscount.