I need your help.
I co-founded the Prison Policy Initiative to put the problem of mass incarceration — and the perverse incentives that fuel it — on the national agenda. Over the last 17 years, our campaigns have protected our democracy from the prison system and protected the poorest families in this country from the predatory prison telephone industry. Our reports untangle the statistics and recruit new allies.
But now, more than ever, we need your help to put data & compassion into the conversation.
Thank you.
—Peter Wagner, Executive DirectorDonate
But now, more than ever, we need your help to put data & compassion into the conversation.
Thank you.
—Peter Wagner, Executive DirectorDonate
Data toolbox
All of our reports and many of our briefings compile previously unavailable or incompatible data. For the benefit of other advocates and researchers who want to do new things with our data, we’ve compiled our unique datasets on this page:
National data
- State prisons, local jails and federal prisons, incarceration rates and counts, 1925-2016 [xlsx] Note that state-level prison population data are available from one of the underlying sources we used to compile this table: Historical Statistics on Prisoners in State and Federal Institutions, Yearend 1925-86.
- Jails:
- U.S. jail incarceration trends, 1983-2013 Includes jail population by conviction status and population held in jails for other state and federal agencies.
- Demographic breakdown of people admitted to local jails, 2017
- Unique admissions to local jails by state, 2016-2017
- Geographic data:
- Correctional facilities in the Census An entire page of resources and documentation.
- Home states of people in Bureau of Prisons facilities Tally of how many people incarcerated in Bureau of Prisons facilities come from each state (and territory).
- Women:
- Money: Following the money of mass incarceration Our report and infographic compiling data on the fiscal cost of mass incarceration, with extensive data sourcing and notes.
- Telephones:
- Detailed timeline of the prison and jail phone industry [xlsx] (graphical version)
State-level criminal justice data (all states)
- Incarcerated populations by race/ethnicity and gender for each state with comparative total population counts and incarceration rate per 100,000 calculations [xlsx]
- Total confined population: Confined populations by state, type of confinement, and gender (2018)
- Total population under correctional control (including probation and parole): Incarceration and supervision populations and rates by state (2018)
- Jails: Jail incarceration trends by state Includes jail incarceration rates, jail growth from 1983-2013, percent held pre-trial, and use of jails to hold people for other state and federal agencies, using 2013 data.
- Jails - Pre-trial detention: Jail population by state and conviction status, 1978-2013
- Jails and Prisons - Over time (annual data from 1978-2015):
- Jails - Regulation: Agencies responsible for setting jail standards Also specified whether their authority is binding
- Jails - Mail restrictions: State policies on restricting mail to jails Includes the prison policy if a policy for jails could not be located.
- Prisons - Gender: Changes in state prison populations 2009-2015, by gender
- Prisons - Wages:
- Prisons - Fees:
- Phones:
- Parole: populations, growth, returns to incarceration, technical violations, and release decisions, by state
- Releases: Annual releases from state prisons and local jails, by gender and by state using 2013-2016 data [xlsx]
Data specific to only one state:
- Maryland:
- The number of incarcerated people from each city and town, county, State House of Delegate districts, State Senate district, voting precinct, and zipcode plus, for the City of Baltimore only, each Community Statistical Area and Baltimore City Council District.
- Massachusetts:
- Income, probation rates and probation caseloads for the population served by each Massachusetts District Court Uses January 2016 probation data and 2014 American Community Survey estimates for population and per capita income data.
- Michigan
Population data (for calculating incarceration rates, etc.)
- National population estimates:
- Population estimates by sex, for January 1 and July 1 of each year, 1924-2018 [xlsx]
- State population estimates:
- 1972-2017 as of January 1 and July 1, by state [xlsx]
Other curated resources:
- Research Library 3,000+ links to criminal justice research by category
- Legal Resources for Incarcerated People All listed organizations have been confirmed in the last 12 months.
- Our illustrations released under an Creative Commons ShareAlike license
- Prison telephone industry research:
- Financial reports from the major companies in the prison and jail telephone market, 2013-2018
- Contracts for each prison and jail in Massachusetts
- Contracts and commission reports from select Iowa counties
- Our Best Data Visualizations
- Exposés:
- Best investigative reporting of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014
Recommended Reading:
Breaking Down Mass Incarceration in the 2010 Census:
State-by-State Incarceration Rates by Race/Ethnicity
Research Library
We curate a searchable database of 3,000+ original research reports, organizing each entry by topic and adding brief summaries.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates 2.3 million people, more than any other country. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
Jails and bail: Our research
One out of three people behind bars is in a local jail. Our research drives jail reform.
Events
- November 13-16, 2019:
Wendy Sawyer will be in San Francisco for the American Society of Criminology annual meeting from Nov. 13-16. Please contact us if you’d like to connect.
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.