What’s New
-
Amicus Brief: Court access needed to address inadequate medical care
Yesterday, the Prison Policy Initiative, in partnership with the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center, filed….
October 1: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
-
A reporter’s guide to reporting guides around incarceration
Resources for honing reporting skills, working with incarcerated writers, and framing your coverage well.
October 1: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
-
Webinar: Exercising our right to know: Making effective public records requests
Every state and the federal government has transparency laws on the books that allow the public to access a huge range….
September 28: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
Featured report
Bad Behavior: How prison disciplinary systems manufacture misconduct
Every prison system has extensive lists of misconduct rules and punishments for incarcerated people who break them. In a groundbreaking report, we analyzed these policies in all 50 state prison systems and collected testimonies from dozens of incarcerated people to explore the vast range of behavior that counts as an "infraction." We found that the majority of prison disciplinary cases are for minor misconduct and that these systems play a key role in keeping people in prison longer.
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 2025-2026 annual report.
Recommended Reading:
Advocacy Toolkit
Resources, tips, and best practices to help advocates working to end mass incarceration.
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates nearly 2 million people. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
Events
- October 27, 2026:
On October 27, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. EST, join the Prison Policy Initiative for a webinar focused on making public records requests. We’ll cover the basics of making a request and provide tips and tricks we’ve learned over decades of sending requests to jails, prisons, and other agencies that can make your requests more effective.
Register here
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.