What’s New
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Amicus Brief: Court access needed to address inadequate medical care
Yesterday, the Prison Policy Initiative, in partnership with the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center, filed….
October 1: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
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A reporter’s guide to reporting guides around incarceration
Resources for honing reporting skills, working with incarcerated writers, and framing your coverage well.
October 1: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
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Webinar: Exercising our right to know: Making effective public records requests
Every state and the federal government has transparency laws on the books that allow the public to access a huge range….
September 28: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
Featured report
One size fits none: How ‘standard conditions’ of probation set people up to fail
Nearly 3 million people in the U.S. are on probation, and all are required to follow a set of "standard conditions" set at the state or local level — rules like restrictions on where they can go, expectations to "be good," and mandatory burdensome fees. Our report breaks down the rules set by 76 jurisdictions across all 50 states, showing how conditions are often in conflict with each other and make it impossible for those on probation to succeed.
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.
Select your state:
If our work is new to you, you might want to check out our 2025-2026 annual report.
Recommended Reading:
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
The rapid & unregulated growth of e-messaging in prisons
It can strengthen connections, but instead has been used to sap money from incarcerated people.
Incarceration and supervision by states
Probation and parole are the leading forms of mass punishment in America.
Prison Gerrymandering Project
We are leading the movement to protect our democracy from the Census Bureau's prison miscount.
Events
- October 27, 2026:
On October 27, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. EST, join the Prison Policy Initiative for a webinar focused on making public records requests. We’ll cover the basics of making a request and provide tips and tricks we’ve learned over decades of sending requests to jails, prisons, and other agencies that can make your requests more effective.
Register here
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.