March 19, 2025: Join Prison Policy Initiative’s Advocacy Department at 1 PM EST on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, for a webinar about understanding recidivism. We will cover strategies from our recidivism toolkit, including an overview of recidivism statistics and what they really mean, how to combat the “Willie Horton” effect, and ways that advocates can transform the narrative around reentry to make it less focused on negative outcomes and more focused on the ways that returning citizens contribute to their communities.
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Community impact
Research on the impact of the criminal legal system on housing, schools, employment, neighborhoods, and more
On this page, the Prison Policy Initiative has curated all of the research that we know of about the impact of the criminal justice system on community well-being. For research on other criminal justice topics, see our Research Library homepage.
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Exposure Risks in US Carceral Facilities, 2022Lindsay Poirier, Derrick Salvatore, Phil Brown, et al, May, 2024“5% of US carceral facilities have at least 1 known source of PFAS contamination... also 47% have at least 1 presumptive source [of PFAS exposure]. A minimum of 990,000 people are incarcerated in these facilities, including at least 12,800 juveniles.”
Coordinating Safety: Building and Sustaining Offices of Violence Prevention and Neighborhood Safety Vera Institute of Justice, November, 2023“Most offices of violence prevention or neighborhood safety focus specifically on community and gun violence, with a smaller number also focusing on other forms of interpersonal violence.”
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Rhode Island Prison Policy Initiative, the Redistricting Data Hub (Peter Horton and Spencer Nelson), Common Cause Rhode Island, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, October, 2023“In Providence, the neighborhoods with the highest incarceration rates in 2020 are also the neighborhoods that were "redlined" in the mid-20th century...becoming home to predominantly non-white residents.”
The Legislative Primer Series on Front-End Justice: Deflection and Diversion National Conference of State Legislatures, August, 2023“Thirty-one states have made significant amendments to, or created new, pretrial diversion programs since 2017.”
Heat, floods, pests, disease, and death: What climate change means for people in prison Prison Policy Initiative, July, 2023“The researchers found for every 10 degree increase above the prison location's mean summer temperature, nearly 5% of deaths (from all causes) occurring there could be attributed to the heat.”
AfterwardAlabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, April, 2023“Fewer than half [of respondents] felt better after the person who killed their loved one was incarcerated. Fewer than half felt safer.”
Sentencing Reform for Criminalized Survivors: Learning from New York's Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act Sentencing Project and Survivors Justice Project, April, 2023“Since its passage, the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA) has freed people who otherwise would have spent considerably more time behind bars, but compromises...have limited its impact.”
Coping With Limited Prosecutorial Resources: An Assessment of the Case Processing and Community Impact From...Prosecutors and Staff in a Southeastern County Paywall :(Christi Metcalfe and Joseph B. Kuhns, March, 2023“Results suggested that Mecklenburg County...suffered more broadly from criminal justice funding challenges, and faced staffing shortages and turnover that were perceived as affecting case dispositions, office morale, and community trust.”
Lower-Level Enforcement, Racial Disparities, & Alternatives to Arrest: A Review of Research and Practice from 1970 to 2021 Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College, February, 2023(This policy review considers five key models of alternatives to arrest: citations, diversion programs, legalization, police-involved crisis response models, and non-police response models.)
Stepping on the Gas: Accelerating Florida's Economic Growth by Restoring the Freedom to Drive Fines and Fees Justice Center, February, 2023“As of November 2022, 716,383 Floridians cannot legally drive because of unpaid fines and fees--1 in 24 driving-age adults.”
Moving Justice Forward: A Blueprint for the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice Center for Justice Innovation, January, 2023“Stakeholders expressed great interest in piloting and eventually expanding the use of restorative justice practices in local courts.”
Crime Survivors Speak: National Survey of Victims' Views on Safety and Justice Alliance for Safety and Justice, September, 2022“According to the Survey, only 1 in 4 victims found the justice system helpful in providing information about recovering from crime or referrals for support services.”
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Delaware Prison Policy Initiative, Kyra Hoffner, and Jack Young, September, 2022“Baltimore communities with high rates of incarceration were more likely to have high unemployment rates, low household income, a high percentage of residents with less than a high school diploma or GED, decreased life expectancy...”
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Pennsylvania Prison Policy Initiative and the Public Interest Law Center, September, 2022“We find that incarcerated people in Pennsylvania come from every corner of the Commonwealth: every single one of the 67 counties is missing a portion of its population to prisons.”
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Nevada Prison Policy Initiative, Silver State Voices, and ACLU of Nevada, August, 2022“People living in the South Fork Reservation, Ely Reservation, Carson Colony, and the Battle Mountain Reservation experience imprisonment rates ranging from 1,389 per 100,000 to 2,817 per 100,000..”
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Washington Prison Policy Initiative and More Equitable Democracy, August, 2022“People living in the Skokomish Reservation and Squaxin Island Reservation experience imprisonment rates of over 1,000 per 100,000 residents, which is almost double the rate of imprisonment in Tacoma and more than 6 times the imprisonment rate in Seattle.”
Repurposing Correctional Facilities to Strengthen CommunitiesSentencing Project, August, 2022“Prison capacity nationwide has been reduced by 81,444 beds [between 2000 and 2022]. Jurisdictions seeking support to finance prison reuse can access federal resources to purchase, construct, or improve designated facilities or provide related services.”
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in California Prison Policy Initiative and Essie Justice Group, August, 2022“Some areas of federally recognized tribal land -- including the Fort Mojave Reservation and Big Valley Rancheria -- have imprisonment rates more than five times the imprisonment rate of Los Angeles.”
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Colorado Prison Policy Initiative and Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, July, 2022“The five most populous counties in the state -- El Paso, Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson, and Adams -- are home to over 65% of the state's imprisoned population (over 9,000 imprisoned people), but are home to only 55% of the state's total population.”
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Virginia Prison Policy Initiative and New Virginia Majority, July, 2022“More than half of everyone incarcerated from Richmond come from just 22 of the city's more than 140 neighborhoods.”
A community response approach to mental health and substance abuse crises reduced crimeThomas S. Dee and James Pyne, June, 2022“We find that the program led to large and sustained reductions in reports of STAR-related offenses (disorderly conduct, substance use) in treated precincts, while unrelated offenses over the treatment period changed little in those same police precincts.”
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Maryland Justice Policy Institute and Prison Policy Initiative, June, 2022“A number of less populous areas, including Wicomico, Dorchester, and Somerset counties on the Eastern Shore, rank in the top fifth of Maryland counties when it comes to prison incarceration rates.”
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in New Jersey Prison Policy Initiative and New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, June, 2022“In New Jersey incarcerated people come from all over the state, but are disproportionately from a few specific cities, most notably Camden, Atlantic City, Paterson, Newark, and Jersey City.”
Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in New York Prison Policy Initiative and VOCAL-NY, June, 2022“The city of Rochester -- the fourth most populous city in the state -- with an incarceration rate of 1,051 per 100,000 city residents, is more than 5 times the rate in New York City.”
Protective State Policies and the Employment of Fathers with Criminal RecordsPaywall :(Allison Dwyer Emory, November, 2021“Consistent with research linking policies regulating access to records to racial discrimination, black men living in protective states reported this employment penalty even if they did not have criminal records themselves.”
Air Pollution and Criminal Activity: Microgeographic Evidence from Chicago Paywall :(Evan Herrnstadt et al, October, 2021“We compare crime upwind and downwind of major highways on days when wind blows orthogonally to the road...we find that air pollution increases violent crime on the downwind sides of interstates.”
The Overlooked Victim Right: According Victim-Survivors a Right of Access to Restorative Justice Lynn S. Branham, August, 2021“Criminal justice systems in the United States currently leave victim-survivors with some of their most basic needs unmet or only partially met.”
Inmates May Work, But Don't Tell Social SecurityStephanie Hunter McMahon, July, 2021“Despite a prevailing requirement that inmates work and despite them being forced to work under threat of punishment, inmates are not "employees" or "workers" in the commonly understood sense.”
Harm Reduction at The Center of IncarcerationDr. Nneka Jones Tapia, April, 2021“Even when the reality of trauma in correctional institutions is fully appreciated, policies often only focus on programs for people who are incarcerated, as if they are the problem, instead of on the system itself.”
Punitive ambiguity: State-level criminal record data quality in the era of widespread background screening Paywall :(David McElhattan, February, 2021“This study develops the concept of punitive ambiguity to characterize the burdens of incomplete criminal records and examines how they vary at the state level, providing evidence that punitive ambiguity is racially patterned.”
Understanding the place of punishment: Disadvantage, politics, and the geography of imprisonment in 21st century America Katharine Beckett and Lindsey Beach, February, 2021“Geographic variation in the use of prisons in 21st century America affords an opportunity toassess--and advance--alternative theoretical perspectives on punishment.”
New data: The revolving door between homeless shelters and prisons in Connecticut Prison Policy Initiative, February, 2021“1 in 5 people who used homeless shelters in the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness' network had been released from prison in the past three years.”
The Opioid Epidemic and Homicide in the United StatesPaywall :(Richard Rosenfeld, Joel Wallman, Randolph Roth, January, 2021“Those who happen to live in communities with high opioid use...suffer from the impact of living in communities with high homicide rates.”
The Reintegration Agenda During Pandemic: Criminal Record Reforms in 2020 Collateral Consequences Resource Center, January, 2021“In 2020, 32 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government enacted 106 legislative bills, approved 5 ballot initiatives, and issued 4 executive orders to restore rights and opportunities to people with a criminal record.”
Digitizing and Disclosing Personal Data: The Proliferation of State Criminal Records on the Internet Lageson, Sarah, Elizabeth Webster, and Juan Sandoval, December, 2020“These digital disclosures...mean that criminal punishment now includes the deprivation of privacy as the justice system distributes personal information across the Internet.”
Locked into Emissions: How Mass Incarceration Contributes to Climate Change Julius A. McGee & Patrick T. Greiner, November, 2020“We find that increases in incarceration within states are associated with increases in industrial emissions, and that increases in incarceration lead to a more tightly coupled association between gross domestic product per capita & industrial emissions.”
A First Step, a Second Chance: Public Support for Restoring Rights of Individuals with Prior Convictions Paywall :(Christina Mancini, Robyn McDougle, and Brittany Keegan, November, 2020“Results suggest most of the public supports expungement reform, but less than 40% support rights restoration generally, with approval levels dependent on specific type of restoration.”
The Many Roads to Reintegration: A 50-State Report on Laws Restoring Rights and Opportunities After Arrest or Conviction Collateral Consequences Resource Center, September, 2020“The area where there is least consensus, and that remains most challenging to reformers, is managing dissemination of damaging criminal record information.”
The Science of Solitary: Expanding the Harmfulness Narrative Craig Haney, September, 2020“Solitary confinement represents a particularly toxic, dangerous subset of a much broader, scientifically well-documented, extremely harmful condition--the deprivation of meaningful social contact.”
Criminal Disqualifications in the Paycheck Protection ProgramKeith Finlay, Michael Mueller-Smith, Brittany Street, July, 2020“Black and Hispanic men, younger men, and Black women experience higher than average exclusion from PPP eligibility due to higher rates of contact with the criminal justice system in each state.”
Who Must Pay to Regain the Vote? A 50-State Survey Collateral Consequences Resource Center, July, 2020“In most of the others (16 states), regaining the vote is tied to completion of supervision, which may give courts and supervision officials some discretion to delay reenfranchisement temporarily if LFOs have not been paid, but not to deny it permanently.”
When You Are a Hammer, Every Problem Looks Like a Nail: Why Building New Prisons Will Do Nothing To Solve Old Problems in Alabama Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, May, 2020“Alabama has the distinction of being the only state in the country to violate CRIPA, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, throughout its entire prison system.”
Criminal Record Stigma in the College-Educated Labor MarketMichael Cerda-Jara, Aminah Elster, and David J. Harding, May, 2020“The overall callback rate is 50 percent lower for college-educated men with criminal records compared to college-educated men with no record.”
Pathways to Reintegration: Criminal Record Reforms in 2019 Collateral Consequences Resource Center, February, 2020“In 2019, 43 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government enacted an extraordinary 152 laws aimed at reducing barriers faced by people with criminal records in the workplace, at the ballot box, and in many other areas of daily life.”
Mapping disadvantage: The geography of incarceration in New York Prison Policy Initiative and VOCAL-NY, February, 2020“A relatively small number of areas in New York are disproportionately impacted by incarceration, and high imprisonment rates correlate with other community problems related to poverty, employment, education, and health.”
Collateral Consequences: The Crossroads of Punishment, Redemption, and the Effects on Communities The United States Commission on Civil Rights, June, 2019“The reach of each collateral consequence extends past people with criminal records to affect families and communities.”
Thinking About Emerging Adults and Violent CrimeEmerging Adult Justice Project, May, 2019“Viewed through this lens, punishment oriented approaches to violent acts are inadequate. Instead, punitive criminal justice policy often perpetuates violence by adding to the socio-economic disadvantage in which violence can flourish.”
Prosecutors and Frequent Utilizers: How Can Prosecutors Better Address The Needs of People Who Frequently Interact with the Criminal Justice and Other Social Systems? Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College, February, 2019“These considerations shift the focus of prosecution from punishment to problem solving, and metrics of success beyond conviction and recidivism rates to individual and community wellbeing.”
Mass Incarceration: A Major Cause of Hunger Bread for the World Institute, February, 2018(This paper explains how mass incarceration increases food insecurity.)
Raising the Bar: Reducing Conflicts of Interest and Increasing Transparency in District Attorney Campaign Fundraising Columbia Law School Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity, January, 2018(This reports provides recommendations on fundraising policies and procedures that are designed to address conflicts of interest and unconscious bias, that may arise when campaign contributors also have business with a district attorney's office.)
Civil Asset Forfeiture: Forfeiting Your Rights Southern Poverty Law Center, January, 2018(This report finds that civil asset forfeiture snares mostly low-level offenders and many individuals who are never charged with a crime in the first place into an unequal system that undercuts due process and property rights.)
The Geography of Incarceration in a Gateway City: The Cost and Consequences of High Incarceration Rate Neighborhoods in Worcester MassINC, September, 2017(The analysis explores the cost and consequences of high incarceration rates in Worcester neighborhoods, offering vital information for policymakers crafting comprehensive criminal justice reform legislation.)
The Crisis of Criminalization: A Call for a Comprehensive Philanthropic Response Barnard Center for Research on Women, September, 2017(This report is an urgent call for a comprehensive philanthropic response to the growing crisis of criminalization.)
Targeted Fines and Fees Against Communities of ColorU.S. Commission on Civil Rights, September, 2017(Unchecked discretion or stringent requirements to impose fines or fees can lead to discrimination and inequitable access to justice when not exercised in accordance with ... the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.)
Less Is More: How Reducing Probation Populations Can Improve Outcomes Harvard Kennedy School, August, 2017(The decline in the number of people on probation supervision in the U.S. should not only be sustained but significantly increased, with a goal of reducing the number of people under probation supervision by 50 percent over 10 years.)
America's Toxic Prisons: The Environmental Injustices of Mass Incarceration Earth Island Journal and Truthout, June, 2017“The toxic impact of prisons extends far beyond any individual prison, or any specific region in the United States. Mass incarceration in the US impacts the health of prisoners, prison-adjacent communities, and local ecosystems from coast to coast.”
Freedom To Thrive: Reimagining safety & security in our communities The Center for Popular Democracy, Law for Black Lives, and the Black Youth Project 100, June, 2017“This report examines racial disparities, policing landscapes, and budgets in twelve jurisdictions across the country, comparing the city and county spending priorities with those of community organizations and their members.”
Leading with Conviction: The Transformative Role of Formerly Incarcerated Leaders in Reducing Mass Incarceration Columbia Law School, May, 2017“This report documents the roles of 48 formerly incarcerated leaders engaged in work related to reducing incarceration and rebuilding communities.”
Supervision in the Community: Probation and Parole Michelle S. Phelps and Caitlin Curry, University of Minnesota, April, 2017“In the United States, the number of adults on probation and parole supervision increased from one million in 1980 to a peak of nearly 5.1 million in 2007, more than double the number of inmates in local, state, and federal jails and prisons.”
Report to the New York City Housing Authority: Applying and Lifting Permanent Exclusions for Criminal Conduct Vera Institute of Justice, February, 2017“The New York Housing Authority has a commitment to maintain the safety of its residents, but must also recognize the important role of families and housing for people involved with the criminal justice system when considering permanent exclusions.”
Accounting for Violence: How to Increase Safety and Break Our Failed Reliance on Mass Incarceration Vera Institute of Justice, February, 2017“[J]ust as it would be wrong to excuse people’s actions simply because they were previously victimized, it is also wrong to ignore someone’s victimization because the person previously broke a law or committed harm in the past.”
Repurposing: New Beginnings for Closed Prisons The Sentencing Project, December, 2016“Since 2011, at least 22 states have closed or announced closures for 92 state prisons and juvenile facilities, resulting in the elimination of over 48,000 state prison beds and an estimated cost savings of over $333 million.”
Building Trust and Legitimacy Within Community CorrectionsHarvard Kennedy School Program in Criminal Justice, December, 2016“A shift from incarceration to community corrections could present numerous opportunities for reform of the criminal justice system as well as significant challenges.”
Bridging the Divide: Improving Parole Outcomes for Native Americans in South Dakota Vera Institute of Justice, October, 2016“This brief describes the issues that tribal communities face and how they are working together with the state government to provide effective services for Native American people on parole.”
Remote Access: Using Video Technology to Treat Substance Users on Probation and Parole in South Dakota Vera Institute of Justice, October, 2016“The state worked with local providers to pilot a teleconferencing program aimed at connecting people to community-based services without the cost and barrier of transportation or other access issues.”
We are not disposable: The Toxic Impacts of Prisons and Jails Californians United for a Responsible Budget, October, 2016“Pollution and environmental degradation created by prisons and jails exacerbate public health risks for not only incarcerated people but also for the local communities where detention facilities are sited.”
A Wealth of Inequalities: Mass Incarceration, Employment, and Racial Disparities in U.S. Household Wealth, 1996 to 2011 Bryan L. Sykes, University of Washington and Michelle Maroto, University of Alberta, October, 2016“[A] non-Hispanic white household with an institutionalized member would actually hold more in assets than an otherwise similar black or Hispanic household without an institutionalized member.”
Police Violence and Citizen Crime Reporting in the Black CommunityProfessor Matthew Desmond, Harvard University; Professor Andrew Papachristos, Yale University; Professor David Kirk, University of Oxford, September, 2016“This study shows that publicized cases of police violence against unarmed black men have a clear and significant impact on citizen crime reporting.”
Profit-Driven Prosecution and the Competitive Bidding ProcessJ. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, August, 2016“This Article sheds light on the problems caused by introducing an overtly economic calculation (how cheaply and how profitably the prosecutorial function may be fulfilled) into the criminal adjudicative process.”
The Long Road Home: Decreasing Barriers to Public Housing for People with Criminal Records Human Impact Partners, May, 2016(This report assesses the health and equity impacts of public housing admissions screening policies that exclude people with a criminal history from public housing, using the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA) in Oakland, California as a case study.)
Stopped, Fined, Arrested: Racial Bias in Policing and Traffic Courts in California Back on the Road California, April, 2016“[T]here are dramatic racial and socioeconomic disparities in driver’s license suspensions and arrests related to unpaid traffic fines and fees.”
Unlicensed & Untapped: Removing Barriers to State Occupational Licenses for People with Records National Employment Law Project, April, 2016“[H]aving a conviction record, particularly for people of color, is a major barrier to participation in the labor market.”
Criminal (In)justice: A Cost Analysis of Wrongful Convictions, Errors, and Failed Prosecutions in California's Criminal Justice System The Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy, Berkeley School of Law, March, 2016“Criminal (In)justice examines 692 adult felony criminal cases where California missed the mark in public safety by failing to prosecute the right person or by pursuing a flawed or unsustainable conviction.”
Evaluation of the Los Angeles Gang Reduction and Youth Development Program: Year 4 Evaluation Report Urban Institute, September, 2015“The analyses presented in this report address GRYD’s efforts to impact gang violence at the individual, family, and community levels, paralleling the GRYD program components targeting each of these levels.”
Public Housing for People with Criminal HistoriesVera Institute of Justice, September, 2015“Cities such as New York City, Oakland, and Chicago have implemented reforms in tenant-selection criteria that ensure a person’s application for housing is not negatively impacted by his or her criminal record.”
Arrests as RegulationEisha Jain, April, 2015“When noncriminal justice actors rely on arrests (as proxies for information they value), they set off a complicated and poorly understood web of interactions with the criminal justice system.”
Driving on Empty: Florida's Counterproductive and Costly Driver's License Suspension Practices Fines & Fees Justice Center, 2015“Between 2015-2017, more than 3.5 million suspension notices were issued for unpaid court debt.”
A Never-Ending Sentence: The Impact of Criminal Conviction in Project-Based Section 8 Housing Tenant Selection Plans in Cuyahoga County Reentry Housing Workgroup of the Cleveland Reentry Strategy Coalition, 2015“The review of [Tenant Selection Plans] shows that criminal convictions, even from misdemeanors, have a long-term impact on access to Project-Based Section 8 Housing in Cuyahoga County”
Bridging the Divide: A new paradigm for addressing safety, crime, and victimization Equal Justice USA, November, 2014“There is a growing movement to confront the false choice between meeting the needs of crime victims and reforming failed criminal justice and corrections policies.”
Criminal, Victim, or Worker?: The Effects of New York's Human Trafficking Intervention Courts on Adults Charged with Prostitution-Related Offenses Red Umbrella Project, October, 2014(Decreasing the incarceration of people charged with prostitution is a good step forward, but as long as people who are in the sex trades are "rescued" through arrest, they will continue to be re-victimized by the police and the courts.)
Rehabilitating Corrections in California: The Health Impacts of Proposition 47 Human Impact Partners, September, 2014“The key to achieving the full benefits of sentencing reform is funding and implementation of the treatment, prevention, and recovery services called for in the initiative.”
Socio-emotional Impact of Violent CrimeBureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2014“Overall, 68% of victims of serious violence experienced socio-emotional problems as a result of their victimization.”
Violent Victimization In New And Established Hispanic Areas, 2007-2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2014“From 2007 to 2010, new Hispanic areas had a lower overall rate of violent victimization compared to small Hispanic areas that had relatively little growth in Hispanic populations.”
Latino Voices: The Impacts of Crime and Criminal Justice Policies on Latinos Californians for Safety and Justice, June, 2014“...the data that does exist — specifically research on Latino victimization rates and their treatment in the justice system — paints a troubling picture of”
Breaking Down Mass Incarceration in the 2010 Census State-by-State Incarceration Rates by Race/Ethnicity Prison Policy Initiative, May, 2014“It is imperative that we are able to measure the extent to which the criminal justice system disparately impacts our communities.”
Criminal Justice Consensus Cost-Benefit Working GroupVermont Center for Justice Research, April, 2014“The State of Vermont needs to reinvigorate its commitment to supporting evidence-based programming in criminal and juvenile justice.”
Voices from the Field: How California Stakeholders View Public Safety Realignment Stanford Criminal Justice Center, January, 2014“What is the result of California's great prison experiment? Even after conducting 125 interviews with agencies across California, it remains a challenge to adequately summarize the changes that Realignment (AB 109) has wrought across the state.”
Justice in Washing State Survey, 2012 Revised and Updated 2014 The Washington State Minority Health Commission, The Washington State Center for Court Research, 2014“When we asked about their personal encounters with police officers and the courts, we found substantial differences between Whites and African Americans in terms of the frequency of negative encounters.”
Communities, Evictions & Criminal Convictions Public Housing and Disparate Impact: A Model Policy Formerly Incarcerated & Convicted People's Movement, April, 2013“The focus of this report is to isolate and clarify one element of housing discrimination: excluding people with criminal records, and their whole families, from public housing.”
Video Visits for Children Whose Parents Are Incarcerated In Whose Best Interest? Sentencing Project, October, 2012“Children may benefit from video visitation if it increases opportunities for them to communicate with their parents. But video visitation is not a substitute for in-person contact visits, particularly for infants and young children.”
The Continuing Challenge of CORI Reform Implementing the Groundbreaking 2010 Massachusetts Law The Boston Foundation and The Crime and Justice Institute at CRJ, May, 2012“This report provides information about reactions to whether the implemented elements of the CORI reform law have had the intended impact, and what the public should expect going forward.”
Public Housing transformation and Crime Making the Case for Responsible Relocation Urban Institute, April, 2012“Overall, our findings show that a substantial majority of neighborhoods [...] were able to absorb public housing relocation voucher households without any adverse effect on neighborhood conditions.”
Moving Beyond Sides The Power and Potential of a New Public Safety Policy Paradigm Partnership for Safety and Justice, December, 2011“The goal of the paper is to explore the untapped potential of a more holistic analysis and strategy that connects traditional criminal justice reform organizations with victim-oriented advocacy groups to work for progressive public safety policy.”
The Early Release of Prisoners And its Impact on Police Agencies and Communities in California Police Executive Research Forum, May, 2011“...there is research indicating that enforcement alone is ineffective in lowering recidivism rates, and in any case, prisons are far too expensive to be used as a default sanction for many criminal offenders.”
Communities Inmates Released to in 2009Massachusetts Department of Correction, October, 2010“Massachusetts Department of Correction Releases to the Street 2009: Top Ten Release Address (Cities/Towns)”
Political Consequences of the Carceral StatePolitical Consequences of the Carceral State, September, 2010“Encounters with criminal justice institutions can negatively affect perceptions of government, rates of political participation and engagement in civic life.”
Collateral Costs Incarceration's Effect on Economic Mobility Pew Charitable Trust, Economic Mobility Project, September, 2010“Serving time reduces hourly wages for men by approximately 11 percent, annual employment by 9 weeks and annual earnings by 40 percent.”
Bearing Witness Baltimore City's Residents Give Voice to What's Needed to Fix the Criminal Justice System Justice Policy Institute, April, 2009(Bearing Witness captures the perspectives of the people of Baltimore City impacted by the criminal justice system and their suggestions for alternatives to addressing social problems.)
A Report on the Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions in MarylandUniversity of Maryland School of Law, 2009“Despite the lasting and sometimes permanent effects that collateral consequences impose upon ex-offenders and their families, no formal mechanism exists for defendants in Maryland, or any other state, to be informed of these consequences.”
March 19, 2025: Join Prison Policy Initiative’s Advocacy Department at 1 PM EST on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, for a webinar about understanding recidivism. We will cover strategies from our recidivism toolkit, including an overview of recidivism statistics and what they really mean, how to combat the “Willie Horton” effect, and ways that advocates can transform the narrative around reentry to make it less focused on negative outcomes and more focused on the ways that returning citizens contribute to their communities.
