What’s New
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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
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Marking twenty-five years of the Prison Policy Initiative
In our new annual report, we share highlights of our work from the past year while commemorating a milestone anniversary
September 25: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
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Legal Resources
The legal resource database was updated with a new listing for Delaware.
September 24: Legal Resources
Featured report
Beyond the Count: A deep dive into state prison populations
In this report we take a deep dive into a large-scale survey of incarcerated people to gain a better understanding of how mass incarceration has been used to warehouse people with marginalized identities and those struggling with poverty, substance use disorder, housing insecurity, and more.
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:
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
The rapid & unregulated growth of e-messaging in prisons
It can strengthen connections, but instead has been used to sap money from incarcerated people.
Incarceration and supervision by states
Probation and parole are the leading forms of mass punishment in America.
Prison Gerrymandering Project
We are leading the movement to protect our democracy from the Census Bureau's prison miscount.
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.