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Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
What’s New
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Menstruation as misconduct: How prisons punish people for having their periods
Our analysis of prison rules and sanctions across all fifty states and the federal system — as well as accounts of incarcerated people — reveal troubling trends in how the carceral system punishes people for a physiological process they have no control over.
November 12: Briefings
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Fourteen states ripe for prison gerrymandering reform
Despite major progress ending prison gerrymandering across the country, the problem continues to plague some state and local governments.
November 12: Prisoners of the Census Blog
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New data on pregnancy prevalence, outcomes, and programs in prisons are welcome additions, but raise new questions
by Prison Policy Initiative
November 12: Research Library: Women and gender
Featured report
Hiding in Plain Sight: How local jails obscure and facilitate mass deportation under Trump
Local jails, even in some sanctuary cities and states, are playing an essential role in President Trump’s mass detention and deportation plan. This report breaks down the complicated overlap between local criminal legal systems and immigration, and offers detailed data tables showing the level of involvement in every state and in specific jails. It also reveals that the Trump administration is circumventing city and county sanctuary policies by referring more immigrants for federal prosecution, meaning they go unnoticed both in local jails and in statistics about detention.
Mass incarceration, state by state
Learn about the national prison crisis and how we can begin to turn the tide on mass incarceration. Then, drill down to your state. Be sure to also check out our pages focused on D.C., and the incarceration of Native people.
If our work is new to you, you might want to check out our 2024-2025 annual report.
Recommended Reading:
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
The rapid & unregulated growth of e-messaging in prisons
It can strengthen connections, but instead has been used to sap money from incarcerated people.
Incarceration and supervision by states
Probation and parole are the leading forms of mass punishment in America.
Prison Gerrymandering Project
We are leading the movement to protect our democracy from the Census Bureau's prison miscount.
Events
- November 12-14, 2025:
Members of our Research team, Wendy Sawyer and Jacob Kang-Brown will be attending the American Society of Criminology annual meeting in Washington, D.C. from November 12 through the 14th. Please reach out if you’d like to set up a meeting.
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.