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

Issues

The big pictureEmpowering our movement with useful & accessible data.
ExploitationCompanies & facilities exploit captive markets. We expose them.
Jails and bailOne out of three people behind bars are in a jail. Jail reform is criminal justice reform.
Racial justiceRacial disparities are a defining characteristic of our criminal justice system.
Poverty and debtOur criminal justice system punishes poverty.
Drug policyMeasuring the impact of the war on drugs.
Collateral consequencesPunishment doesn't end when your sentence does.
CommunicationProtecting phone, visitation, email, and postal contact for people behind bars.
Prison gerrymanderingHow the prison system distorts democracy
Probation and parolePrisons are just one piece of the correctional "pie."
Women and genderHow women fare in the world’s most punitive justice system.
Public healthThe harms of mass incarceration extend far beyond prisons