Aleks Kajstura | October 12, 2017

Jail phone companies flood money into sheriff races

New research shows jail phone companies contributing significant sums to Sheriff's campaigns, in one case funding a quarter of Sheriff's campaign spending.

Emily Widra | September 8, 2017

The parallel epidemics of incarceration & HIV in the Deep South

HIV disproportionately impacts communities that are already marginalized by poverty, inadequate resources, discrimination — and mass incarceration.

Wendy Sawyer and Emily Widra | August 24, 2017

Findings from Harris County: Money bail undermines criminal justice goals

A recent study of misdemeanor pretrial detention in Harris County, Texas, offers evidence that money bail actually increases risks to public safety, affects case outcomes in ways that contribute to more incarceration, and infringes on constitutional rights.

Alex Clark | August 24, 2017

Exploring the staying power of elected sheriffs – a preliminary analysis

A closer look at the incumbency advantages and campaign expenditures of America's elected sheriffs.

Elliot Oberholtzer | August 23, 2017

Police, courts, jails, and prisons all fail disabled people

Disabled people are overrepresented in all interactions with the criminal justice system, and at all points, the system is failing them.

Alex Clark and Joshua Aiken | August 11, 2017

Seizing Chicago: Drug stings and asset forfeiture target the poor

Instead of protecting Chicago's communities, state asset forfeiture practices and drug stings set up by federal agents target low-income, Black, and Latino residents, setting them up to fail.

Elliot Oberholtzer | July 18, 2017

New report: Disabled people targeted by violence at high rates

A new report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics sheds light on the treatment of disabled people. Based on nationally representative data from 2011-2015 it finds that disabled people experience violent victimization at over twice the rate of people without disabilities.

Wendy Sawyer and Alex Clark | July 13, 2017

New data: The rise of the “prosecutor politician”

Jed Shugerman argues that the prosecutor's office has become a "stepping stone to higher office... with dramatic consequences in American criminal law and mass incarceration." His extensive database explores connections between prosecutors and politics in each state since the 1880s.

Stephen Raher | July 6, 2017

The Wireless Prison: How Colorado’s tablet computer program misses opportunities and monetizes the poor

Colorado's tablet program foreshadows a potential new paradigm in corrections, shifting numerous communications, educational, and recreational functions to a for-profit contractor; and making incarcerated people and their families pay for services that are commonly funded by the state.

Wendy Sawyer | June 28, 2017

BJS report: Drug abuse and addiction at the root of 21% of crimes