What’s New
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Updated data and charts: Women’s incarceration, national prison population counts, psychological distress behind bars, and more
Updated data visualizations illustrate the scale of — and disparities within — mass incarceration.
April 27: Briefings
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Guaranteed income helps people leaving jail and prison, and that helps everyone
Guaranteed income programs show reduced recidivism and improved self-sufficiency, quickly paying for themselves.
April 10: Briefings
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The Prison Discovery Crisis
by James Stone
April 8: Research Library: Conditions of confinement
Featured report
Prisons of Poverty: Uncovering the pre-incarceration incomes of the imprisoned
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:
The unmet health needs of people in prison
States fall far short of their duty to meet the health needs of incarcerated people.
All profit, no risk
The bail industry exploits cracks and loopholes in the legal system to avoid accountability, while growing its profits.
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.
Events
- April 30, 2026:
On Thursday, April 30th, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, our research director, Wendy Sawyer, will be part of a webinar hosted by the Drug Policy Alliance. It will highlight strategies researchers can employ to quickly mobilize to study pressing issues and disseminate their findings in a challenging climate.
Register here
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.