Home
About
Publications
- Reports
- Briefings
- Visuals
- State Profiles
- Advocacy Toolkit
- Fact Sheets
- Art
Issues
Data
Blog
Contact
Careers
Donate

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 23 years, thanks to individual donors like you.

Can you help us sustain this work?

Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate

Short, timely investigations and issue explainers

Emily Widra | December 19, 2024

Despite fewer people experiencing police contact, racial disparities in arrests, police misconduct, and police use of force continue

New Bureau of Justice Statistics data reveal that concerning trends in policing persisted in 2022, even while fewer people interacted with police than in prior years.

Brian Nam-Sonenstein and Emmett Sanders | December 9, 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?

More briefings

Emily Widra and Wendy Sawyer | November 27, 2024

Who is jailed, how often, and why: Our Jail Data Initiative collaboration offers a fresh look at the misuse of local jails

Using a novel data source, we examine the flow of individuals booked into a nationally-representative sample of jails along lines of race, ethnicity, sex, age, housing status, and type of criminal charge.

Leah Wang | November 18, 2024

Talking turkey about the death penalty: outgoing governors and the president must use their clemency power now

President Biden and three governors should use their clemency powers before they leave office to save the lives of people facing the death penalty, our nation’s cruelest punishment.

Sarah Staudt | October 17, 2024

California may take a big step backwards towards more incarceration with Proposition 36

The measure would defund prevention and reentry services, and is projected to grow the state prison population by 35% over the next 5 years.

Emily Widra | October 8, 2024

New, expanded data on Indian country jails show concerning trends extend to tribal lands

In Indian country jails, populations have rebounded from pandemic lows, the detention of women and older adults is increasing, and new offense type data raise questions about why so many people are incarcerated on tribal lands.

Mike Wessler and Juliana Luna | September 16, 2024

Prison Banned Books Week: Books give incarcerated people access to the world, but tablets are often used to wall them off

Instead of taking advantage of their possibilities, the companies that got rich off prison phone calls offer limited book selections on tablets, as part of their continued efforts to sap money from incarcerated people and their families.

Mike Wessler | September 11, 2024

Mass incarceration is on the ballot

A guide to how 19 offices you may be asked to vote on can help end mass incarceration in America.

Emily Widra | August 29, 2024

New research links medical copays to reduced healthcare access in prisons

Using our prior research on prison wages and medical copays, researchers found that higher copays obstruct access to necessary healthcare behind bars, even as prison populations face increasing rates of physical and mental health conditions.

Eric Seligman and Brian Nam-Sonenstein | August 27, 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.

Older Briefings →

Stay Informed

Share on 𝕏 Donate

Stay Informed

Short, timely investigations and issue explainers

Despite fewer people experiencing police contact, racial disparities in arrests, police misconduct, and police use of force continue

New Bureau of Justice Statistics data reveal that concerning trends in policing persisted in 2022, even while fewer people interacted with police than in prior years.

Why jails and prisons can’t recruit their way out of the understaffing crisis

More briefings

Who is jailed, how often, and why: Our Jail Data Initiative collaboration offers a fresh look at the misuse of local jails

Using a novel data source, we examine the flow of individuals booked into a nationally-representative sample of jails along lines of race, ethnicity, sex, age, housing status, and type of criminal charge.

Talking turkey about the death penalty: outgoing governors and the president must use their clemency power now

President Biden and three governors should use their clemency powers before they leave office to save the lives of people facing the death penalty, our nation’s cruelest punishment.

California may take a big step backwards towards more incarceration with Proposition 36

The measure would defund prevention and reentry services, and is projected to grow the state prison population by 35% over the next 5 years.

New, expanded data on Indian country jails show concerning trends extend to tribal lands

In Indian country jails, populations have rebounded from pandemic lows, the detention of women and older adults is increasing, and new offense type data raise questions about why so many people are incarcerated on tribal lands.

Prison Banned Books Week: Books give incarcerated people access to the world, but tablets are often used to wall them off

Instead of taking advantage of their possibilities, the companies that got rich off prison phone calls offer limited book selections on tablets, as part of their continued efforts to sap money from incarcerated people and their families.

Mass incarceration is on the ballot

A guide to how 19 offices you may be asked to vote on can help end mass incarceration in America.

New research links medical copays to reduced healthcare access in prisons

Using our prior research on prison wages and medical copays, researchers found that higher copays obstruct access to necessary healthcare behind bars, even as prison populations face increasing rates of physical and mental health conditions.

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.

Stay Informed

Recommended Reading:

The unmet health needs of people in prison

All profit, no risk

Compare your state's use of the prison to the world at large

Prison Gerrymandering Project