What’s New
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New data: The changes in prisons, jails, probation, and parole in the first year of the pandemic Newly released data from 2020 show the impact of early-pandemic correctional policy choices and what kind of change is possible under pressure. But the data also show how inadequate, uneven, and unsustained policy changes have been: most have already been reversed.
January 11: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
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New data: The changes in prisons, jails, probation, and parole in the first year of the pandemic Newly released data from 2020 show the impact of early-pandemic correctional policy choices and what kind of change is possible under pressure. But the data also show how inadequate, uneven, and unsustained policy changes have been: most have already been reversed.
January 11: Briefings
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Prison Policy Initiative asks FCC to reject prison phone company’s request for special treatment to peddle “subscription” phone plans Securus wants the FCC to waive its rules, but won’t disclose important details about how the plans work.
January 10: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
Featured report
State of Phone Justice: Local jails, state prisons and private phone providers
The movement for phone justice has won huge victories in state-run prisons, but people in local jails - many of whom have not been convicted of a crime - still frequently have to pay $1 per minute or more for a phone call. State of Phone Justice uncovers the cost of calls in over 2,000 jails nationwide, explaining why sheriffs sign lucrative phone contracts that prey on pretrial detainees and enrich private phone providers.
The report allows readers to compare the cost of phone calls in thousands of locally-run jails and state-run prisons, and goes into unprecedented depth on the state of the prison and jail phone market.
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.
If our work is new to you, you might want to check out our 2020-2021 annual report.
Recommended Reading:
Five ways the criminal justice system could slow the pandemic
Quick action could slow the spread of the viral pandemic in prisons and jails and in society as a whole
The "services" offered by jails don't make them safe places for vulnerable people
Even in the best of times, jails are not good at providing health and social services.
The most important statistics from our work on policing
Racial disparities, bloated budgets, the criminalization of homelessness, and more.
Is social distancing possible behind bars?
No. It's even harder than on cruise ships or in nursing homes.