What’s New
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Virginia poised to become 8th state to end prison gerrymandering, as House votes on SJ18 The Virginia House of Delegates is expected to vote within the next two weeks on SJ18, a constitutional amendment to….
February 19: Prisoners of the Census Blog
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Prison Policy Initiative releases detailed data on the “geography of incarceration” in New York state, opening doors for future research The new resource uses data generated by New York’s law ending prison gerrymandering.
February 19: Press releases
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Laying the Groundwork: How States Can Improve Access to Continued Education for People in the Criminal Justice System by Council of State Governments Justice Center
February 18: Research Library: Education
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An Organizer’s Guide to Confronting Pretrial Risk Assessment Tools in Decarceration Campaigns by Community Justice Exchange
February 18: Research Library: Pretrial Detention
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Ending the War on Drugs in Travis County, Texas: How Low-Level Drug Possession Arrests are Harmful and Ineffective by TCJC, Grassroots Leadership, Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, and the Civil Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law
February 18: Research Library: Drug Policy
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A Never-Ending Sentence: The Impact of Criminal Conviction in Project-Based Section 8 Housing Tenant Selection Plans in Cuyahoga County by Reentry Housing Workgroup of the Cleveland Reentry Strategy Coalition
February 18: Research Library: Community Impact
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In Trouble: How the Promise of Diversion Clashes With the Reality of Poverty, Addiction, and Structural Racism in Alabama’s Justice by Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice
February 18: Research Library: Poverty and wealth
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Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2016 by Bureau of Justice Statistics
February 18: Research Library: General
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Reconciling Police and Communities with Apologies, Acknowledgements, or Both: A Controlled Experiment by Thomas C. O’Brien, Tracey L. Meares, Tom R. Tyler
February 18: Research Library: Police and Policing
Featured research
Exposing exploitative "prison tablet" contracts
Private companies are offering electronic tablets and kiosks to prisons and jails — then overcharging incarcerated people and their loved ones to use them.
Worse, these low-quality digital products are becoming an excuse for some prisons and jails to eliminate essential services, like libraries and paralegals, and to charge people by the minute to read books.
Our research is bringing these abusive practices to light. Read our primer on programs that claim to deliver tablets at "no cost" to taxpayers, and our short report showing which states have implemented tablet programs.
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 2018-2019 annual report.
Recommended Reading:
Jails and bail: Our research
One out of three people behind bars is in a local jail. Our research drives jail reform.
$1/minute to talk to Dad?
State governments must act to protect families from the predatory jail telephone industry.
Compare your state's use of the prison to the world at large
Criminal justice policy in every region of the United States is out of step with the rest of the world.
Prison Gerrymandering Project
We are leading the movement to protect our democracy from the Census Bureau's prison miscount.