Research Library

Our mission is to empower activists, journalists, and policymakers to shape effective criminal justice policy, so we go beyond our original reports and analyses to curate a database of virtually all the empirical criminal justice research available online.

Tips: If you know what you are looking for, you may also search the database. We also have an email newsletter (at right)(at bottom) for new research library updates.

  • COVID-19 (79) Research on the pandemic’s impact on prisons and jails
  • Community impact (103) Research on the impact of the criminal legal system on housing, schools, employment, neighborhoods, and more
  • Conditions of confinement (266) Research on prison and jail conditions such as solitary confinement, labor, discipline, food, and more
  • Courts and trials (164) Research on prosecutors, judges, public defense, court caseloads, and more
  • Crime (282) Curated research on crime, crime rates, and victimization
  • Death penalty (153) Information and data on capital punishment and executions
  • Disability (30) Research on the prevalence of, and challenges faced by, people with disabilities in the criminal legal system
  • Drug policy and treatment (175) Research on punishing and treating drug use in the criminal legal system
  • Economics of incarceration (175) Research on the economic drivers and consequences of mass incarceration
  • Education (134) Curated research on education programs in prisons and the school-to-prison pipeline
  • Families (151) Information and data on the criminal legal system’s impacts on families
  • Felony disenfranchisement and voting rights (93) Information about laws barring people from the polls because of criminal convictions
  • General (161) Broad-based research and information about the criminal legal system
  • Gun control (44) Information and data about gun violence, firearms, and gun control policy
  • Health and healthcare (196) Research on access to healthcare, chronic and infectious disease, mortality, and more
  • Immigration (70) Research on the incarceration and detainment of immigrants
  • Incarceration rates and trends (335) Research documenting the growth of prison and jail populations
  • International incarceration (44) Curated research on incarceration trends worldwide, and how they compare to the U.S.
  • Jails (282) Research on jail populations, jail conditions, jail construction, and more
  • LGBTQ (25) Information and data on the mass criminalization and incarceration of LGBTQ+ people
  • Mental health (85) Research on the prevalence and treatment of mental illness in the criminal legal system
  • Policing (270) Information and data on arrests, traffic stops, law enforcement interactions, and more
  • Poverty and wealth (151) Research on fines, fees, debt, and the criminalization of poor people
  • Pretrial detention (121) Research on the costs and outcomes of detaining people before trial
  • Prison gerrymandering (20) Research on prison-based gerrymandering (see also www.prisonersofthecensus.org)
  • Privatization (102) Information and data on how private companies exploit incarcerated people and their families
  • Probation and parole (122) Information about community supervision policies, conditions, violations, and more
  • Public opinion (49) Research on public perceptions of crime, prison, reform, and more
  • Racial and ethnic disparities (181) Research and statistics on racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal legal system
  • Reentry and recidivism (244) Information and research on the challenges and outcomes for people released from incarceration, including collateral consequences
  • Sentencing policy (141) Research on the rise and impact of excessive criminal sentences
  • Sex-related convictions (17) Research about the unique punishment of sex-related crimes through registries, civil commitment, and other means
  • Women and gender (136) Information and data on gender disparities in the criminal legal system
  • Youth and juvenile justice (399) Research about youth in the criminal legal system

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