What’s New
-
Prison Policy Initiative endorses the Extreme Temperatures Injustice in Prisons Act
Nearly 19,000 people in federal prisons experienced heat-related illnesses between 2022 and 2025. A new bill is looking to change that.
July 16: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
-
Legal Resources
The legal resource database was updated with a new listing for New York.
July 16: Legal Resources
-
Legal Resources
The legal resource database was updated with a new listing for Minnesota.
July 10: Legal Resources
Featured report
Bad Behavior: How prison disciplinary systems manufacture misconduct
Every prison system has extensive lists of misconduct rules and punishments for incarcerated people who break them. In a groundbreaking report, we analyzed these policies in all 50 state prison systems and collected testimonies from dozens of incarcerated people to explore the vast range of behavior that counts as an "infraction." We found that the majority of prison disciplinary cases are for minor misconduct and that these systems play a key role in keeping people in prison longer.
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.