What’s New
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Advocates warn Census Bureau of impending test failure, inaccurate counts of incarcerated people
Without testing improved ways of counting people in correctional facilities, the Bureau is destined to repeat the errors of past decades again in the 2030 Census.
March 5: Prisoners of the Census Blog
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Bad Omens: Reform rollbacks in Washington D.C. are a warning sign for state-level advocates
Bills in Congress that repeal bail reform, worsen mandatory minimums, and further criminalize youth threaten to undo decades of criminal legal system reform in D.C.
March 4: Briefings
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Truth in Sentencing and Illinois Prisons
by Loyola Chicago Center for Criminal Justice
March 4: Research Library: Sentencing policy
Featured report
SMH: The rapid & unregulated growth of e-messaging in prison
As work by advocates and family members have forced governments to crack down on price gouging for prison phone calls, the companies behind these services quietly turned their focus toward less regulated industries to continue to sap money from incarcerated people and their loved ones. One new service in particular — text-based electronic messaging or “e-messaging” — has experienced explosive and unregulated growth.
In this report we examined all 50 state prison systems, as well as the Federal Bureau of Prisons to see how common this technology has become, how much it costs, and what, if anything, is being done to protect incarcerated people and their families from exploitation.
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:
Tracking Trump's criminal legal system moves
The Administration is making America's criminal legal system harsher, less effective, and even more unjust.
Research Library
We curate a searchable database of 4,000+ original research reports, organizing each entry by topic and adding brief summaries.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates nearly 2 million people. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
Bad Behavior
This national report explains how prison disciplinary policies manufacture misconduct and severly punish incarcerated people.