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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

Short, timely investigations and issue explainers

Brian Nam-Sonenstein | August 15, 2023

High stakes mistakes: How courts respond to “failure to appear”

Research shows that while most people who miss court are not dangerous or evading justice, the way courts treat “failure to appear” may make our communities less safe.

Emily Widra | August 2, 2023

The aging prison population: Causes, costs, and consequences

New Census Bureau data show the U.S. population is getting older — and at the same time, our prison populations are aging even faster. In this briefing, we examine the inhumane, costly, and counterproductive practice of locking up older adults.

Leah Wang | July 19, 2023

Heat, floods, pests, disease, and death: What climate change means for people in prison

Without consistent access to relief or safer environments, incarcerated people are punished with deadly heat, increased biological threats, and flimsy emergency protocols. We explain new epidemiological evidence confirming that heat and death are linked in prisons nationwide, and explain why the climate-change-induced plight of people in prisons deserves swift action.

Sarah Staudt | July 6, 2023

Releasing people pretrial doesn’t harm public safety

When these states, cities, and counties began releasing more people pretrial, there were no corresponding waves in crime.

Brian Nam-Sonenstein | June 15, 2023

Breaking news from inside: How prisons suppress prison journalism

Building on data from the Prison Journalism Project, we find that most states enforce restrictions that make practicing journalism extremely difficult and sometimes risky.

Luci Harrell and Brian Nam-Sonenstein | June 8, 2023

Unhoused and under arrest: How Atlanta polices poverty

New research from the Atlanta Community Support Project finds 1 in 8 city jail bookings involve a person experiencing homelessness

Emily Widra | June 1, 2023

New data on HIV in prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic underscore links between HIV and incarceration

The percent of people in prison with HIV barely budged despite the heightened risks of COVID-19 to immunocompromised individuals. We review the evidence connecting the parallel epidemics of HIV and incarceration, which disproportionately impact Black men in the South.

Emma Ruth | May 18, 2023

What is civil commitment? Recent report raises visibility of this shadowy form of incarceration

Shadowy “civil commitment” facilities actually foster the traumatic and violent conditions that they are supposed to prevent.

Emily Widra | April 21, 2023

Lessons from COVID-19 can help prisons & jails prepare for the next pandemic

COVID-19 wasn’t the first virus to devastate prisons and jails…and it won’t be the last. By learning from their past failures, state and local leaders can take steps now to prepare for the next inevitable viral threat.

Emily Widra and Alexi Jones | April 3, 2023

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.

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Short, timely investigations and issue explainers

High stakes mistakes: How courts respond to “failure to appear”

Research shows that while most people who miss court are not dangerous or evading justice, the way courts treat “failure to appear” may make our communities less safe.

The aging prison population: Causes, costs, and consequences

New Census Bureau data show the U.S. population is getting older — and at the same time, our prison populations are aging even faster. In this briefing, we examine the inhumane, costly, and counterproductive practice of locking up older adults.

Heat, floods, pests, disease, and death: What climate change means for people in prison

Releasing people pretrial doesn’t harm public safety

When these states, cities, and counties began releasing more people pretrial, there were no corresponding waves in crime.

Breaking news from inside: How prisons suppress prison journalism

Building on data from the Prison Journalism Project, we find that most states enforce restrictions that make practicing journalism extremely difficult and sometimes risky.

Unhoused and under arrest: How Atlanta polices poverty

New research from the Atlanta Community Support Project finds 1 in 8 city jail bookings involve a person experiencing homelessness

New data on HIV in prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic underscore links between HIV and incarceration

The percent of people in prison with HIV barely budged despite the heightened risks of COVID-19 to immunocompromised individuals. We review the evidence connecting the parallel epidemics of HIV and incarceration, which disproportionately impact Black men in the South.

What is civil commitment? Recent report raises visibility of this shadowy form of incarceration

Shadowy “civil commitment” facilities actually foster the traumatic and violent conditions that they are supposed to prevent.

Lessons from COVID-19 can help prisons & jails prepare for the next pandemic

COVID-19 wasn’t the first virus to devastate prisons and jails…and it won’t be the last. By learning from their past failures, state and local leaders can take steps now to prepare for the next inevitable viral threat.

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.

Stay Informed

Recommended Reading:

50 state incarceration profiles

The rapid & unregulated growth of e-messaging in prisons

Incarceration and supervision by states

Prison Gerrymandering Project