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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

Emmett Sanders | August 21, 2024

An Act of Regression: Louisiana takes a giant step backward in parole and sentencing reform

Louisiana lawmakers are eliminating discretionary parole and implementing regressive truth-in-sentencing laws. These billion-dollar “zombie policies” are set to double the prison population in a state that is already a world leader in incarceration and will harm public safety.

Brian Nam-Sonenstein | August 6, 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.

Wanda Bertram | July 18, 2024

FCC votes to slash prison and jail calling rates and ban corporate kickbacks

New rules, the result of the bipartisan passage of the Martha Wright-Reed Fair and Just Communications Act, are a massive victory in the decades-long fight for prison and jail communication justice.

Wendy Sawyer | June 18, 2024

Two years after the end of Roe v. Wade, most women on probation and parole have to ask permission to travel for abortion care

Since the 2022 Dobbs decision, 21 states have restricted abortions earlier than the Roe v. Wade standard. Now, more of the 800,000 women on probation and parole must seek abortion care out-of-state — but for many, whether they can get there depends on an officer’s decision.

Wanda Bertram | June 11, 2024

What can journalists do when prisons and jails cite HIPAA to withhold information about deaths in custody?

If you're a journalist who's been stonewalled while seeking public records about deaths in custody, you are not alone. We offer tips for requesting information and strengthening your story against HIPAA-related denials.

Brian Nam-Sonenstein | June 5, 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.

Wanda Bertram | May 6, 2024

Journalists: Here’s how to uncover how the money in “Inmate Welfare Funds” is being spent

We offer lessons learned from developing our new report, Shadow Budgets, to encourage journalists to investigate welfare funds in their local prison or jail systems.

Emily Widra | April 15, 2024

New data and visualizations spotlight states’ reliance on excessive jailing

We've updated the data tables and graphics from our 2017 report to show just how little has changed in our nation's overuse of jails: too many people are locked up in jails, most detained pretrial and many of them are not even under local jurisdiction.

Leah Wang | February 28, 2024

Since you asked: How many women and men are released from each state’s prisons and jails every year?

We’ve drilled down into 2019 data to show prison and jail releases by sex in each state and made our best estimates of how many women and men were released from prisons and jails nationwide in 2022.

Emmett Sanders | February 20, 2024

Cautionary jails: Deconstructing the three “C”s of jail construction arguments

Communities across the country have been told that investing in new jail construction is the only way to solve old policy problems, but arguments for new jails can leave them with a billion-dollar case of buyer’s remorse.

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Short, timely investigations and issue explainers

An Act of Regression: Louisiana takes a giant step backward in parole and sentencing reform

Louisiana lawmakers are eliminating discretionary parole and implementing regressive truth-in-sentencing laws. These billion-dollar “zombie policies” are set to double the prison population in a state that is already a world leader in incarceration and will harm public safety.

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.

FCC votes to slash prison and jail calling rates and ban corporate kickbacks

New rules, the result of the bipartisan passage of the Martha Wright-Reed Fair and Just Communications Act, are a massive victory in the decades-long fight for prison and jail communication justice.

Two years after the end of Roe v. Wade, most women on probation and parole have to ask permission to travel for abortion care

Since the 2022 Dobbs decision, 21 states have restricted abortions earlier than the Roe v. Wade standard. Now, more of the 800,000 women on probation and parole must seek abortion care out-of-state — but for many, whether they can get there depends on an officer’s decision.

What can journalists do when prisons and jails cite HIPAA to withhold information about deaths in custody?

If you're a journalist who's been stonewalled while seeking public records about deaths in custody, you are not alone. We offer tips for requesting information and strengthening your story against HIPAA-related denials.

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.

Journalists: Here’s how to uncover how the money in “Inmate Welfare Funds” is being spent

We offer lessons learned from developing our new report, Shadow Budgets, to encourage journalists to investigate welfare funds in their local prison or jail systems.

New data and visualizations spotlight states’ reliance on excessive jailing

We've updated the data tables and graphics from our 2017 report to show just how little has changed in our nation's overuse of jails: too many people are locked up in jails, most detained pretrial and many of them are not even under local jurisdiction.

Since you asked: How many women and men are released from each state’s prisons and jails every year?

We’ve drilled down into 2019 data to show prison and jail releases by sex in each state and made our best estimates of how many women and men were released from prisons and jails nationwide in 2022.

Cautionary jails: Deconstructing the three “C”s of jail construction arguments

Communities across the country have been told that investing in new jail construction is the only way to solve old policy problems, but arguments for new jails can leave them with a billion-dollar case of buyer’s remorse.

Stay Informed

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Why are calls from prisons and jails so expensive?

Research Library

Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie

Jails and bail: Our research