Despite reforms, drug offenses are still a defining... | Prison Policy Initiative

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

Graph showing the number of people incarcerated in federal prisons and jails by offense type. The War on Drugs is a defining characteristic of the federal prison system. Pretrial detention and public order offenses are the next largest shares.

Data Source: See the Data sources & methodology section of the full Whole Pie report. (Graph: Wendy Sawyer & Peter Wagner, 2025)

This graph originally appeared in Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2025.

Stay Informed

Get the latest updates:

Stay Informed

Share on 𝕏 Donate

Events

April 15-17, 2025:
Sarah Staudt, our Director of Policy and Advocacy, will be attending the MacArthur Safety and Justice Challenge Network Meeting from April 15-17 in Chicago. Drop her a line if you’d like to meet up!

Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.