What’s New
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Federal Census policy breaks Wyoming’s democracy — state lawmakers can fix it
Wyoming’s redistricting data was once again skewed after the 2020 Census; the state needs to take action to fix the issue for 2030
July 9: Prisoners of the Census Blog
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Legal Resources
The legal resource database was updated with new listings for Indiana and Kansas.
July 7: Legal Resources
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The Court Agrees: In prison, a $15 fine means so much more
The Fourth Circuit has revived an incarcerated person’s lawsuit challenging a $15 fine taken from his account as punishment.
July 3: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
Featured report
Building exits off the highway to mass incarceration: Diversion programs explained
"Diversion program" can refer to a wide variety of initiatives to keep people out of jail. We wrote one report that explains them all. Our report envisions the criminal justice process as a highway, with five major "exits" off the road to incarceration — that is, five basic types of diversion programs. We compare and contrast the different programs, showing how the best programs get people off the highway to incarceration as early as possible, long before jail time or arrest.
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 2023-2024 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.
