HELP US END MASS INCARCERATION
The Prison Policy Initiative uses research, advocacy, and organizing to dismantle mass incarceration. We’ve been in this movement for 23 years, thanks to individual donors like you.
Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
Articles by Alexi Jones
- Mortality, health, and poverty: the unmet needs of people on probation and parole
Unique survey data reveal that people under community supervision have high rates of substance use and mental health disorders and extremely limited access to healthcare, likely contributing to the high rates of mortality.
Apr 3, 2023 - Research Roundup: Incarceration can cause lasting damage to mental health
Incarceration can trigger and worsen symptoms of mental illness — and those effects can last long after someone leaves the prison gates.
May 13, 2021 - Research roundup: Violent crimes against Black and Latinx people receive less coverage and less justice
We explain the research showing that violent crimes against Black Americans - especially those in poverty - are less likely to be cleared by police and less likely to receive news coverage than similar crimes against white people.
Mar 18, 2021 - New data on jail populations: The good, the bad, and the ugly
A new BJS report shows that U.S. jails reduced their populations by 25% in the first few months of the pandemic. But even then, the U.S. was still putting more people in local jails than most countries incarcerate in total.
Mar 17, 2021 - Visualizing the unequal treatment of LGBTQ people in the criminal justice system
LGBTQ people are overrepresented at every stage of our criminal justice system, from juvenile justice to parole.
Mar 2, 2021 - New data: The revolving door between homeless shelters and prisons in Connecticut
New statewide data from the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness underscore the harms of criminalizing homelessness and the destabilizing effects of incarceration.
Feb 10, 2021 - Food insecurity is rising, and incarceration puts families at risk
Several studies show that formerly incarcerated people - and the children of currently incarcerated people - are at especially high risk of experiencing food insecurity.
Feb 10, 2021 - 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.
Oct 30, 2020 - Not just “a few bad apples”: U.S. police kill civilians at much higher rates than other countries
Police violence is a systemic problem in the U.S., not simply incidental, and it happens on a scale far greater than other wealthy nations.
Jun 5, 2020 - Stagnant populations and changing demographics: what the new BJS reports tell us about correctional populations
New BJS reports show that jail and prison populations remain stubbornly high despite decreasing crime rates, and point to the shifting demographics of correctional populations.
May 5, 2020 - 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.
Mar 19, 2020 - Technical violations, immigration detainers, and other bad reasons to keep people in jail
How ICE and probation and parole detainers (or “holds”) contribute to unnecessary jailing
Mar 18, 2020 - New BJS report reveals staggering number of preventable deaths in local jails
In 2016, over 1,000 people died in local jails - many the tragic result of healthcare and jail systems that fail to address serious health problems among the jail population, and of the trauma of incarceration itself.
Feb 13, 2020 - How many people in your state go to local jails every year?
New data shows that local jails impact more people in your state than you may think.
Sep 18, 2019 - The biggest priorities for prison and jail phone justice in 40 states
High prison rates, high jail rates, high first minute charges, and more
Sep 11, 2019 - Cruel and unusual punishment: When states don’t provide air conditioning in prison
13 states in the hottest parts of the country lack universal A/C in their prisons. We explain the consequences.
Jun 18, 2019 - On kickbacks and commissions in the prison and jail phone market
Phone providers are so creative in their influence-peddling that the most viable reform strategies do not focus only on "commissions."
Feb 11, 2019 - Timeline: The 18-year battle for prison phone justice
The fight to make prison and jail phone calls affordable began in 2000. For those wondering "why is this taking so long?", here are the key dates.
Dec 17, 2018 - Police stops are still marred by racial discrimination, new data shows.
So why does Trump continue to endorse stop-and-frisk?
Oct 12, 2018
Recommended Reading:
The unmet health needs of people in prison
States fall far short of their duty to meet the health needs of incarcerated people.
All profit, no risk
The bail industry exploits cracks and loopholes in the legal system to avoid accountability, while growing its profits.
Compare your state's use of the prison to the world at large
Criminal justice policy in every region of the United States is out of step with the rest of the world.
Prison Gerrymandering Project
We are leading the movement to protect our democracy from the Census Bureau's prison miscount.