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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

Wanda Bertram and Wendy Sawyer | June 30, 2022

What the end of Roe v. Wade will mean for people on probation and parole

On any given day in the U.S., 666,413 women are on probation or parole.

Prison Policy Initiative | May 9, 2022

Working in “a meat grinder”: A research roundup showing prison and jail jobs aren’t all that states promise they will be

No wonder prisons and jails face constant understaffing and that communities increasingly resist new facilities: Decades of research show that the physical and mental health problems associated with correctional officers' jobs are inherent to the work, and that new prisons and jails fail to deliver on promises of economic development.

Wendy Sawyer and Wanda Bertram | May 4, 2022

Prisons and jails will separate millions of mothers from their children in 2022

58% of all women in U.S. prisons are mothers, and other important facts to know this Mother’s Day.

Stephen Raher | May 3, 2022

Insufficient funds: How prison and jail “release cards” perpetuate the cycle of poverty

We examined release card companies’ fee structures to learn how this industry has evolved, and what government leaders can do to stop its worst practices.

Leah Wang | April 20, 2022

Prisons are a daily environmental injustice

On Earth Day, many people contemplate past and future demands for clean air, clean water, and protected landscapes. But society’s calls for a healthier environment rarely extend to incarcerated people, many of whom are confined in toxic detention facilities. We recap some aspects of how prisons leave both people and planet worse off.

Tiana Herring and Emily Widra | March 31, 2022

What the Survey of Prison Inmates tells us about trans people in state prison

We look at the experiences of 29 incarcerated transgender people before and during their incarceration.

Emily Widra | March 28, 2022

What does successful bail reform look like? To start, look to Harris County, Texas.

New data supports what advocates have been saying all along: there’s no need to detain so many people pretrial.

Wendy Sawyer | March 24, 2022

Untangling why prison & jail populations dropped early in the pandemic

Reductions in prison and jail populations were due to COVID-related slowdowns in the gears of the criminal legal system. Without intentional action, these reductions will be erased.

Emily Widra | March 9, 2022

The prison context itself undermines public health and vaccination efforts

A new report from the Correctional Association of New York reveals why some people in prison are reluctant to get the COVID-19 vaccine and a lot of it has to do with distrust in the correctional system.

Emily Widra | February 10, 2022

State prisons and local jails appear indifferent to COVID outbreaks, refuse to depopulate dangerous facilities

While some prison systems and local jails have maintained historically low populations, others have returned to pre-pandemic levels, despite the ongoing dangers of COVID-19 and new, more transmissible variants.

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Short, timely investigations and issue explainers

What the end of Roe v. Wade will mean for people on probation and parole

On any given day in the U.S., 666,413 women are on probation or parole.

Working in “a meat grinder”: A research roundup showing prison and jail jobs aren’t all that states promise they will be

Prisons and jails will separate millions of mothers from their children in 2022

58% of all women in U.S. prisons are mothers, and other important facts to know this Mother’s Day.

Insufficient funds: How prison and jail “release cards” perpetuate the cycle of poverty

We examined release card companies’ fee structures to learn how this industry has evolved, and what government leaders can do to stop its worst practices.

Prisons are a daily environmental injustice

What the Survey of Prison Inmates tells us about trans people in state prison

We look at the experiences of 29 incarcerated transgender people before and during their incarceration.

What does successful bail reform look like? To start, look to Harris County, Texas.

New data supports what advocates have been saying all along: there’s no need to detain so many people pretrial.

Untangling why prison & jail populations dropped early in the pandemic

Reductions in prison and jail populations were due to COVID-related slowdowns in the gears of the criminal legal system. Without intentional action, these reductions will be erased.

The prison context itself undermines public health and vaccination efforts

A new report from the Correctional Association of New York reveals why some people in prison are reluctant to get the COVID-19 vaccine and a lot of it has to do with distrust in the correctional system.

State prisons and local jails appear indifferent to COVID outbreaks, refuse to depopulate dangerous facilities

While some prison systems and local jails have maintained historically low populations, others have returned to pre-pandemic levels, despite the ongoing dangers of COVID-19 and new, more transmissible variants.

Stay Informed

Recommended Reading:

Advocacy Toolkit

50 state incarceration profiles

Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie

Shadow Budgets