What’s New
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When bad policies spread: The expansion of the “sex offense registry” model to other convictions
Shaming doesn’t prevent crime.
August 10: Briefings
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Death by incarceration:
Detention duration, overdose, and COVID-19 in Los Angeles County Jails, 2008-2023 by Adrianne Katrina Nelson et al
August 10: Research Library: Jails
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Welcome to our Creator-in-Residence, Marci Marie Simmons!
Marci will work with the Prison Policy Initiative team to create social videos that expose the harms of mass incarceration in America.
August 6: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
Featured report
SMH: The rapid & unregulated growth of e-messaging in prison
As work by advocates and family members have forced governments to crack down on price gouging for prison phone calls, the companies behind these services quietly turned their focus toward less regulated industries to continue to sap money from incarcerated people and their loved ones. One new service in particular — text-based electronic messaging or “e-messaging” — has experienced explosive and unregulated growth.
In this report we examined all 50 state prison systems, as well as the Federal Bureau of Prisons to see how common this technology has become, how much it costs, and what, if anything, is being done to protect incarcerated people and their families from exploitation.
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 2024-2025 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.