But now, more than ever, we need your help to put data & compassion into the conversation.
Thank you.
—Peter Wagner, Executive DirectorDonate
Communication
The Prison Policy Initiative uncovers how prisons, jails, and the private sector inhibit important communications and exploit families. See our research on:
And don’t miss our report: Separation by Bars and Miles: Visitation in state prisons finding that most people in state prison are locked up over 100 miles from their families and that, unsurprisingly, these great distances — as well as the time and expense required to overcome them — actively discourage family visits. That reality makes protecting other forms of communication home all the more important.
See also:
- Telephone and video calling section of our blog.
- The Wireless Prison: How Colorado’s tablet computer program misses opportunities and monetizes the poor by Stephen Raher, July 6, 2017.
Colorado's tablet program foreshadows a potential new paradigm in corrections - shifting prison and jail services to for-profit contractors, and making incarcerated people and their families pay for services that are commonly funded by the state.
Recommended Reading:
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
Legal Resources for Incarcerated People
The internet's first always-up-to-date list of organizations that provide legal services and resources for incarcerated people, organized by state.
Exploitation in the criminal justice system
Companies and correctional facilities exploit captive markets. We expose them.
Prison Gerrymandering Project
We are leading the movement to protect our democracy from the Census Bureau's prison miscount.