What’s New
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Eliminating Pretrial Detention
by Shima Baradaran Baughman
February 6: Research Library: Pretrial detention
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Specialty courts: A disappointing form of diversion
It seems like specialty courts — also called treatment courts, problem-solving courts, or accountability courts — are everywhere, claiming to tackle the root causes of criminalized behavior while reducing the use of jails. But decades of research and advocacy suggest that these courts are no panacea, failing to adhere to best practices or prevent incarceration for many participants.
February 2: Briefings
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Caging compassion: Recognizing and resisting carceral humanist narratives in criminal justice reform
Advocates for criminal justice reform are often caught between the immediate need to address the dehumanizing….
January 30: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
Featured report
Following the Money of Mass Incarceration 2026
In this groundbreaking report, the Prison Policy Initiative aggregates economic data to offer a big picture view of who pays for and who benefits when millions of people are behind bars.
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:
The unmet health needs of people in prison
States fall far short of their duty to meet the health needs of incarcerated people.
All profit, no risk
The bail industry exploits cracks and loopholes in the legal system to avoid accountability, while growing its profits.
Compare your state's use of the prison to the world at large
Criminal justice policy in every region of the United States is out of step with the rest of the world.
Prison Gerrymandering Project
We are leading the movement to protect our democracy from the Census Bureau's prison miscount.
Events
- February 25, 2026:
On February 25, 2026 at 1 p.m. EST, join the Prison Policy Initiative and guests James Kilgore and Mon Mohapatra to discuss ways to push back on “carceral humanist” reforms that don’t change the underlying dehumanization of the criminal legal system.
Register here
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.