What’s New
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Who’s helping the 1.9 million women released from prisons and jails each year? Women make up a growing share of incarcerated populations, and they have different needs than justice-involved men. Accordingly, some prison systems have begun to implement gender-responsive policies and programs. But what happens after release?
July 19: Briefings
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Testifying before Congress about the mass incarceration of women “Women’s experiences with the criminal justice system serve to highlight the faults of the whole system,” our Legal Director explained to members of the House Judiciary Committee.
July 17: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
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ICEwatch: ICE Raids Tactics Map A Brief Summary of ICE Raids Trends to Accompany by Immigrant Defense Project
July 17: Research Library: Immigration
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At the Intersection of Health and Justice: How the Health of American Indians and Alaska Natives Is Disproportionately Affected by Disparities in the Criminal Justice System by Bette Jacobs, Mehgan Gallagher, and Nicole Heydt
July 16: Research Library: Race and ethnicity
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Convictions of Innocent People with Intellectual Disability by Sheri Lynn Johnson, John H. Blume, Amelia Hritz
July 16: Research Library: Disability
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Prosecutorial Misconduct: Mass Gang Indictments and Inflammatory Statements by Babe Howell
July 16: Research Library: Race and ethnicity
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Bail Reform in New York: Legislative Provisions and Implications for New York City by Center for Court Innovation
July 16: Research Library: Pretrial Detention
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Preventing Suicide and Self-Harm in Jail: A Sentinel Events Approach by Vera Institute of Justice
July 16: Research Library: Health impact
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Punishing Homelessness by Sara Rankin
July 15: Research Library: Poverty and wealth
Featured report
The Gender Divide: Tracking women's state prison growth
Even as men’s incarceration rates are falling, women’s incarceration rates remain near record highs, a trend driven by criminal justice decisions at the state level. Our new report breaks down women’s incarceration trends in state prisons for all 50 states since 1978. We find that women have scarcely benefited from efforts to reduce state prison populations since 2009. In many states, treating women’s incarceration as an afterthought has, in effect, held back efforts to decarcerate.
Unpacking mass incarceration
Learn about the national prison crisis and how we can begin to turn the tide on mass incarceration. Then, drill down to your state.
If our work is new to you, you might want to check out our 2017-2018 annual report.
Recommended Reading:
Breaking Down Mass Incarceration in the 2010 Census:
State-by-State Incarceration Rates by Race/Ethnicity
Research Library
We curate a searchable database of 2,900+ original research reports, organizing each entry by topic and adding brief summaries.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates 2.3 million people, more than any other country. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
Jails and bail: Our research
One out of three people behind bars is in a local jail. Our research drives jail reform.