What’s New
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New Essie Justice Group survey exposes dangerous prison and jail conditions during COVID-19 Survey data collected from people with incarcerated loved ones confirms some of our worst fears about the treatment of people behind bars during the pandemic.
September 17: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
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Prisons and jails are rolling back free phone and video calls. They should be extending them instead Amidst a pandemic and recession, policymakers should be fighting for extended — if not permanent — financial relief for incarcerated people and their families.
September 11: Prison Policy Initiative Blog
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Monitoring Pretrial Reform in Harris County: First Sixth Month Report of the Court-Appointed Monitor by Independent Monitor for the Odonnell v. Harris County
September 11: Research Library: Jails
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Visualizing changes in the incarcerated population during COVID-19 Initial policy changes that resulted in quick and necessary decarceration have slowed, despite the growing infection and death rate of COVID-19 in prisons and jails.
September 10: Briefings
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Lives on the Line: Women with Incarcerated Loved Ones and the Impact of COVID-19 Behind Bars by Essie Justice Group and Color of Change
September 9: Research Library: Women
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Correctional Populations in the United States, 2017-2018 by Bureau of Justice Statistics
September 9: Research Library: Incarceration Rates Growth Causes
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How Many Complaints Against Police Officers Can Be Abated by Incapacitating A Few “Bad Apples?” by Aaron Chalfin and Jacob Kaplan
September 9: Research Library: Police and Policing
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Officer-Involved Shootings in Texas: 2016-2019 by Texas Justice Initiative
September 9: Research Library: Police and Policing
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Racial Disparities in the Massachusetts Criminal System by The Criminal Justice Policy Program, Harvard Law School
September 9: Research Library: Race and ethnicity
Featured report
Failing Grades: States' Responses to COVID-19 in Jails & Prisons
We worked with the ACLU to evaluate — and grade — all 50 states’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in prisons and jails. Alarmingly, we found that when faced with this test of their leadership, most states ignored the pleas of incarcerated people and the warnings of medical experts and refused to implement widespread testing, provide protective equipment, and reduce prison and jail populations. The results have been as tragic as they were predictable: Hundreds of incarcerated people and staff have died from the virus, and most of the largest coronavirus outbreaks are behind bars.
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 2018-2019 annual report.
Recommended Reading:
Five ways the criminal justice system could slow the pandemic
Quick action could slow the spread of the viral pandemic in prisons and jails and in society as a whole
The "services" offered by jails don't make them safe places for vulnerable people
Even in the best of times, jails are not good at providing health and social services.
The most important statistics from our work on policing
Racial disparities, bloated budgets, the criminalization of homelessness, and more.
Is social distancing possible behind bars?
No. It's even harder than on cruise ships or in nursing homes.