What’s New
-
New BJS data reveals a jail-building boom in Indian country Across the country, local governments are building more jail space rather than working to reduce incarceration. New data shows that this trend is especially visible on tribal lands.
October 30: Briefings
-
New BJS data: Prison incarceration rates inch down, but racial equity and real decarceration still decades away At the current pace of decarceration, it will be 2088 when state prison populations return to pre-mass incarceration levels.
October 30: Briefings
-
A Tale of Two Technologies: Why “digital” doesn’t always mean “better” for prison law libraries Electronic law libraries are not always improvements for incarcerated people, particularly when prisons turn to them as a way of cutting costs.
October 28: Briefings
-
Technical difficulties: D.C. data shows how minor supervision violations contribute to excessive jailing Using D.C. as a case study, we explain how much non-criminal – and often drug related – “technical” violations of probation and parole contribute to unnecessary jail incarceration.
October 28: Briefings
-
Time-In-Cell 2019: A Snapshot of Restrictive Housing Based on a Nationwide Survey of U.S. Prison Systems by The Arthur Liman Public Interest Program at Yale Law School and the Association of State Correctional Administrators
October 21: Research Library: Conditions of Confinement
-
Sanctuary policies reduce deportations without increasing crime by David K. Hausman
October 21: Research Library: Crime and Crime Rates
-
Criminal Justice System Involvement and Food Insufficiency: Findings from the 2018 New York City Community Health Survey by Alexander Testa and Dylan B.Jackson
October 20: Research Library: Poverty and wealth
-
Woke Retailers — This You? Corporations That Embraced Criminal Justice Reform Rhetoric Have Been Fueling Mass Incarceration by Public Citizen
October 20: Research Library: Sentencing Policy and Practices
-
Challenging Jail-Based Disenfranchisement: A Resource Guide for Advocates by Campaign Legal Center
October 20: Research Library: Felon Disenfranchisement
Featured report
Eligible, but excluded: A guide to removing the barriers to jail voting
Most of the 746,000 people incarcerated in jails can vote, but nearly-insurmountable barriers prevent them from doing so. In this report with Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr.'s Rainbow PUSH Coalition, we provide a concise guide to understanding which people in jail in every state are eligible to vote (including a handy flowchart and 50-state table), and explain how advocates and elected officials can bring down the logistical barriers that prevent people in jail from having their votes counted.
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.