Articles by Joshua Aiken
- Seizing Chicago: Drug stings and asset forfeiture target the poor
Instead of protecting Chicago's communities, state asset forfeiture practices and drug stings set up by federal agents target low-income, Black, and Latino residents, setting them up to fail.
Aug 11, 2017 - The downstream effect of 35 years of jail growth? A state prison boom
In our most recent report, Era of Mass Expansion, we argued that state lawmakers need to pay attention to local jails: the U.S. jail population has tripled over the last....
Jun 14, 2017 - New District of Columbia profile page
Mass incarceration sits on the doorstep of American democracy: the District of Columbia is not only the nation’s capital but also the incarceration capital of the free....
Jun 14, 2017 - New report, Era of Mass Expansion, looks at states to explain jail growth
Since the 1980's crime has fallen, but the number of people in jails tripled. Our new report finds two troubling explanations for why this has occurred: the rise in pre-trial detention and the renting of jail space to other authorities.
May 31, 2017 - Another century of mass incarceration?
If the U.S. doesn't make reducing the correctional population a policy priority, generations will continue to be burdened by mass incarceration.
Dec 30, 2016 - New report finds that 12 states and Washington D.C. still automatically suspend driver’s licenses for drug offenses unrelated to driving
A relic of the War on Drugs pressures states to automatically suspend the driver’s license of anyone convicted of a drug offense, even if the offense did not involve driving. This practice hits the poor the hardest.
Dec 12, 2016 - Girls are being put behind bars more and more. Will Congress do anything to help?
While comprehensive criminal justice reform for adults has failed to pass in Congress, a bill lingering in the Senate could still overhaul how our juvenile justice system....
Sep 30, 2016 - Protecting visitation and mail in Massachusetts prisons
The Massachusetts prisons system wants to make it harder to visit and harder to mail materials to incarcerated people. We tell them that's a bad idea.
Sep 28, 2016 - Why do we lock juveniles up for life and throw away the key? Race plays a big part.
The United States is the only country in the world that sentences people under 18 to die behind bars. Which states do it, and why?
Sep 15, 2016
Recommended Reading:
Tracking Trump's criminal legal system moves
The Administration is making America's criminal legal system harsher, less effective, and even more unjust.
Research Library
We curate a searchable database of 4,000+ original research reports, organizing each entry by topic and adding brief summaries.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates nearly 2 million people. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
Bad Behavior
This national report explains how prison disciplinary policies manufacture misconduct and severly punish incarcerated people.
Events
- May 29-30, 2026:
Members of the Prison Policy Initiative Communications team will be attending and presenting at the Bridging the Gap: Amplifying Incarcerated Voices conference in Chicago, on May 29th and 30th. Please reach out if you’d like to set up a meeting during the conference.
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