What’s New
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Paid in Full: A Plan to End Money Injustice in New Orleans by Vera Institute of Justice
June 14: Research Library: Pretrial Detention
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Why haven’t presidential candidates proposed to end the criminalization of poverty? The Democratic candidates are missing an opportunity to pitch sweeping criminal justice reform as an economic justice issue.
June 12: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
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BJS fuels myths about sex offense recidivism, contradicting its own new data A new government report reinforces harmful misconceptions about people convicted of sex offenses. Here’s our take on how to parse the data.
June 6: Briefings
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Prosecutors and Frequent Utilizers: How Can Prosecutors Better Address The Needs of People Who Frequently Interact with the Criminal Justice and Other Social Systems? by Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College
June 6: Research Library: Community Impact
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Do Private Prisons Affect Criminal Sentencing? by Christian Dippel and Michael Poyker
June 6: Research Library: Privatization
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Does Locked Up Mean Locked Out? The Effects of the Anti-Drug Act of 1986 on Black Male Students’ College Enrollment by Tolani Britton
June 6: Research Library: Drug Policy
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Justice “cost points”: Examination of privatization within public systems of justice by Alexes Harris, Tyler Smith, Emmi Obara
June 4: Research Library: Privatization
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Levers of Change In Parole Release And Revocation by Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
June 4: Research Library: Probation and parole
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Aggressive Policing and Academic Outcomes: Examining the Impact of Police “Surges” in NYC Students’ Home Neighborhoods by Joscha Legewie, Chelsea Farley, Kayla Stewart
June 4: Research Library: Police and Policing
Featured report
Out of Prison & Out of Work: Unemployment among formerly incarcerated people
In a first-of-its-kind report, we calculate the unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people. People who have been to prison overwhelmingly want to work, but face huge obstacles in the job market.
In a followup report, Nowhere to Go, we use the same dataset to break down the housing crisis among formerly incarcerated people.
Unpacking mass incarceration
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 2017-2018 annual report.
Recommended Reading:
Breaking Down Mass Incarceration in the 2010 Census:
State-by-State Incarceration Rates by Race/Ethnicity
Research Library
We curate a searchable database of 2,900+ original research reports, organizing each entry by topic and adding brief summaries.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates 2.3 million people, more than any other country. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
Jails and bail: Our research
One out of three people behind bars is in a local jail. Our research drives jail reform.