Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
What’s New
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Just over half of incarcerated people are vaccinated, despite being locked in COVID-19 epicenters by Prison Policy Initiative
June 11: Research Library: Health impact
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What families can expect to be charged under the new FCC rules A new order from the Federal Communications Commission lowers existing caps on rates and fees in the prison and jail telephone industry.
June 10: Briefings
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New data: State prisons are increasingly deadly places New data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that state prisons are seeing alarming rises in suicide, homicide, and drug and alcohol-related deaths.
June 8: Briefings
Featured report
Mass Incarceration, COVID-19, and Community Spread
Our report shows that over half a million cases of COVID-19 in the summer of 2020 - or roughly 13% of all cases - were attributable to mass incarceration. With Gregory Hooks of McMaster University, we examine national data to determine how COVID-19 infections spread beyond prisons and jails and into the communities surrounding them, resulting in faster case growth in counties and economic areas with more people incarcerated. (Report includes national-, state-, and county-level data.)
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 2019-2020 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.