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
Reforms Without Results: Why states should stop excluding violent offenses from criminal justice reforms
Too many states are passing criminal justice reforms that ignore the majority of people in prison: people convicted of violent crimes. In Reforms Without Results, we explain why people convicted of violence must be allowed to benefit from laws that expand early release, create alternatives to incarceration, and ease the reentry process. Our report includes a concise, rigorous overview of the existing research on violent crime, as well as an interactive U.S. map showing which states have passed laws that exclude people convicted of violence.
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:
Advocacy Toolkit
Resources, tips, and best practices to help advocates working to end mass incarceration.
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates nearly 2 million people. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
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.