Our main focus is on ending prison gerrymandering, the distortion in our democratic process caused by the Census Bureau's practice of counting people where they are confined, not where they come from.

So far, four states and more than 200 local governments have ended prison gerrymandering.

Our two reports call on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate exploitative prison phone rates.

Our work on the prison phone industry was cited in two letters from Congress, won the support of the New York Times editorial board, and was the basis for a collaboration with SumOfUs to collect 36,690 petitions to the FCC.

The FCC is now considering regulation.

We're taking on the newest fad sweeping through county jails: the wrong-headed policy of banning letters from home and requiring loved ones to write on public postcards.

Most states have well-intentioned but counter-productive laws that enhance sentence based on where the offense is located.

We demonstrated that a Massachusetts drug law that set the penalty by where the offense is located — and not the harm caused by the offense — does not work, can never work, and has serious negative effects.

The recommendations of our two reports were endorsed by Governor Patrick and led to a change in the law.

We've since made the same point — that when states declare everywhere to be special, nowhere is special — in other states.

Our book, The Prison Index: Taking the Pulse of the Crime Control Industry, our research clearinghouse and our other resources help bridge the gap between existing criminal justice information and the people like you who want to make informed decisions.