What’s New
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Women’s Pathways Into and Out of Jail in Buncombe County by Vera Institute of Justice
May 25: Research Library: Women
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New report: A blueprint for meaningful probation and parole reform in Connecticut — and other states As we explained in a report earlier this month, every U.S. state punishes far more people than is remotely necessary….
May 23: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
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What is civil commitment? Recent report raises visibility of this shadowy form of incarceration Shadowy “civil commitment” facilities actually foster the traumatic and violent conditions that they are supposed to prevent.
May 18: Briefings
Featured reports
Excessive, unjust, and expensive: Fixing Connecticut's probation and parole problems
Probation and parole are "too big to succeed": Nationally, these "alternatives" to incarceration drive 42% of prison admissions every year, often punishing people for noncriminal violations. In Excessive, unjust, and expensive, we use Connecticut as a case study to show how modest reforms can dramatically reduce the number of people ensnared in these programs and ensure they serve as tools for decarceration, rather than pathways to reincarceration.
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.
If our work is new to you, you might want to check out our 2021-2022 annual report.
Recommended Reading:
Why are calls from prisons and jails so expensive?
We look at the progress in the fight for phone justice and what comes next.
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 1.9 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.