About the Prison Policy Initiative
The non-profit, non-partisan Prison Policy Initiative produces cutting edge research to expose the broader harm of mass criminalization, and then sparks advocacy campaigns to create a more just society.
Our role in the movement
The Prison Policy Initiative's research and advocacy is at the center of the national conversation about criminal justice reform and over-criminalization. Because essential national and state level data is often completely inaccessible, the Prison Policy Initiative's insightful data analysis and powerful graphics help fill these gaps to bring in new supporters and help other movement leaders achieve their goals.
Who we are
Peter Wagner co-founded the Prison Policy Initiative in 2001 to document and publicize how mass incarceration punishes our entire society. Our staff members shape national reform campaigns from our office in Western Massachusetts.
Peter WagnerExecutive Director 
Aleks KajsturaLegal Director
Wendy SawyerResearch Director
Wanda BertramCommunications Strategist
Emily WidraSenior Research Analyst
Mike WesslerCommunications Director
Danielle SquillanteDevelopment and Communications Associate
Sarah StaudtPolicy and Advocacy Director
Brian Nam-SonensteinSenior Editor and Researcher
Peter Wagner
Aleks Kajstura
Wendy Sawyer
Wanda Bertram
Emily Widra
Mike Wessler
Sarah Staudt
Our biggest victories
The Prison Policy Initiative is known for delivering big results with a small budget, including:
- Empowering our movement with the big picture with Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie. This ground-breaking report assembles data on everyone who is incarcerated or confined in different kinds of prisons, jails, and other correctional and detention facilities in the U.S. The main graphic has become the most widely-used visual in the field. In addition, recognizing the unique experiences of women behind bars, we also produced a version of this report that focuses on women's incarceration.
- Bringing fairness to the prison and jail phone industry. Some children had to pay $1/minute for a call home from an incarcerated parent. Our research and advocacy led the Federal Communications Commission slash the cost of voice and video calls home from prisons and jails.
- Demonstrating that incarceration in every state — even those with relatively progressive policies — is out of line with the international community with the report and interactive graphic States of Incarceration: The Global Context.
- Protecting our democracy from the undue influence of the prison system. Our campaign against prison gerrymandering has changed how legislative districts are drawn in a dozen states and 200+ municipalities — more than half the country now lives in a place that has ended the practice.
- We’ve worked with local advocates to push back when elected leaders wanted to build a massive new jail or expand their existing facilities. These efforts have delivered results, most notably in Fulton County, GA, where our research helped local organizers successfully stop plans to build a $2 billion new jail.
- When the federal government stopped publishing state-level racial disparity data for prisons and jails in 2006, we found a way to fill that gap and give state-advocates the data they need to hold their state accountable.
Annual Reports
- 2024-2025
- 2023-2024
- Show older reports
- 2022-2023
- 2021-2022
- 2020-2021
- 2019-2020
- 2018-2019
- 2017-2018
- 2016-2017
- 2015-2016
- 2014-2015
- 2013-2014
- 2012-2013
Financial and tax information
- IRS 501(c)(3) letter
- 2023-2024
- 2022-2023
- Show older data
- 2021-2022
- 2020-2021
- 2019-2020
- 2018-2019
- 2017-2018
- 2016-2017
- 2015-2016
- 2014-2015
- 2013-2014
- 2012-2013
- 2011-2012
- 2010-2011
- 2009-2010
- 2008-2009
- 2007-2008 tax return
- 2006-2007 tax return
- Form 1023 (May 8, 2006)
Recommended Reading:
Tracking Trump's criminal legal system moves
The Administration is making America's criminal legal system harsher, less effective, and even more unjust.
Research Library
We curate a searchable database of 4,000+ original research reports, organizing each entry by topic and adding brief summaries.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates nearly 2 million people. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
Bad Behavior
This national report explains how prison disciplinary policies manufacture misconduct and severly punish incarcerated people.
Events
- November 12-14, 2025:
Members of our Research team, Wendy Sawyer and Jacob Kang-Brown will be attending the American Society of Criminology annual meeting in Washington, D.C. from November 12 through the 14th. Please reach out if you’d like to set up a meeting.
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.