Prison Policy Initiative newsletter archive
Periodic news on the Prison Policy Initiative and our work to expose the broader harm of mass incarceration.
- The awful consequences of states denying air conditioning in prisons
June 18, 2019 - Why haven't presidential candidates proposed to end the criminalization of poverty?
June 12, 2019 - Women make up a growing share of arrests and report more police use of force
May 14, 2019 - New report: Does our county really need a bigger jail?
May 6, 2019 - Iowa jails charge exorbitant phone rates; Prison Policy Initiative files objections
May 2, 2019 - How many people on probation can afford probation fees?
April 10, 2019 - Victory for phone justice: Securus and ICSolutions abandon attempted merger
April 3, 2019 - New report: Mass Incarceration - The Whole Pie 2019
March 19, 2019 - The number of states with deceptive "free tablet" contracts is growing
March 7, 2019 - How fair is your state's parole system? We gave it a letter grade
February 26, 2019 - New 50-state report: State of Phone Justice
February 11, 2019 - How “progressive” states can be oppressive for people on parole
January 9, 2019 - #Bestof2018
December 31, 2018 - New report ranks all 50 states on “correctional control,” showing huge state disparities in use of probation
December 11, 2018 - New survey suggests jail guards are to blame for most contraband
December 6, 2018 - Our most important successes over the last year
November 29, 2018 - New report: The eight most effective ways to shorten long prison sentences
November 15, 2018 - New report gives visual breakdown of women's incarceration, with a close-up on jails
November 13, 2018 - New York State’s parole reforms haven't gone far enough
November 7, 2018 - New report, Getting Back on Course, shows that prison permanently hinders education
October 30, 2018 - States are asking the wrong people for input on parole decisions
October 25, 2018 - New data shows police twice as likely to use force against people of color
October 18, 2018 - Iowa and Utah end a costly law from the War on Drugs
August 31, 2018 - Why algorithmic risk assessments might treat young people unfairly
August 22, 2018 - New report - Nowhere to Go: Homelessness among formerly incarcerated people
August 14, 2018 - We reply to Securus: The prison phones market is broken enough
August 3, 2018 - How to spot the hidden costs in a “no-cost” tablet contract
July 26, 2018 - NYC to make calls from jail free
July 19, 2018 - New report - Out of Prison & Out of Work
July 10, 2018 - New report compares U.S. state incarceration rates with 166 countries around the world
June 5, 2018 - Urging the Florida DOC to protect in-person visits
May 31, 2018 - New report - The Company Store: A Deeper Look at Prison Commissaries
May 24, 2018 - Essie Justice sheds new light on women with incarcerated loved ones
May 15, 2018 - Prisons and jails can track your phone without a warrant
May 11, 2018 - Probation is shrinking, but still a major driver of incarceration
April 26, 2018 - Target will compensate 41,000 victims of criminal record discrimination
April 12, 2018 - Massachusetts gets closer to protecting in-person jail visits
March 29, 2018 - What 10.6 million jail admissions a year actually looks like
March 22, 2018 - New report - Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2018
March 14, 2018 - N.J. and Cali. make progress to protect in-person visits
March 7, 2018 - New report - Youth Confinement: The Whole Pie
February 27, 2018 - Bringing Latinx voices into the conversation on mass incarceration
January 24, 2018 - New data shows that the "gender divide" in prison populations is widening
January 17, 2018 - New report - The Gender Divide: Tracking women’s state prison growth
January 9, 2018 - #BestOf2017
December 29, 2017 - Criminal justice campaigns that can win in 2018
December 20, 2017 - Media raises urgent questions about banning jail visits
December 14, 2017 - Tracking the impact of the prison system on the economy
December 7, 2017 - A year of hard-won victories
November 16, 2017 - The dismal state of transgender incarceration policies
November 9, 2017 - How American women are left to rot in jail
October 27, 2017 - New Report - Women’s Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2017
October 19, 2017 - Jail phone companies are flooding money into sheriff races
October 12, 2017 - Even video conferencing enthusiasts recognize harms of jail video calling industry
September 28, 2017 - The parallel epidemics of incarceration & HIV in the Deep South
September 14, 2017 - Increasing need to eliminate money bail
August 29, 2017 - What Trump gets wrong about “Stop-and-Frisk” policing
August 17, 2017 - “Too cruel to be true?” Boston Globe slams Sheriff for banning in-person visits
August 9, 2017 - Protecting in-person visits in prisons and jails
July 28, 2017 - New data shines a light on "prosecutor politicians"
July 20, 2017 - New report on the exploitive prison tablet industry
July 6, 2017 - Mental health issues in prison and jail rampant. Treatment? Not so much.
June 29, 2017 - The downstream effect of 35 years of jail growth?
June 20, 2017 - For families of incarcerated dads, Father's day comes at a premium
June 13, 2017 - New Report - Era of Mass Expansion: Why State Officials Should Fight Jail Growth
May 31, 2017 - Washington Post editorial in support of phone justice
May 27, 2017 - Why are Black women disproportionately affected by HIV?
May 18, 2017 - Uncovering the risk of solitary confinement for people over 45
May 2, 2017 - The steep cost of medical co-pays in prison puts health at risk
April 19, 2017 - How much do incarcerated people earn in each state?
April 13, 2017 - Bill takes aim at outdated War-on-Drugs era policy
April 7, 2017 - Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2017
March 14, 2017 - Food for thought: Prison food is a public health problem
March 8, 2017 - Telephone justice and video visitation updates
February 9, 2017 - Following the Money of Mass Incarceration
January 25, 2017 - President Obama’s parting reminders on criminal justice reform
January 10, 2017 - Another century of mass incarceration?
January 4, 2017 - Data update: Incarcerated population inching down
December 29, 2016 - Jail mortality numbers and probation rates are still sky high
December 22, 2016 - New report finds that 12 states and Washington D.C. still automatically suspend driver’s licenses for drug offenses unrelated to driving
December 12, 2016 - Massachusetts charges monthly probation fees to people who can’t afford them
December 8, 2016 - This Giving Tuesday, justice reform needs your support like never before
November 29, 2016 - Celebrating our 15th year fueling justice reform
November 8, 2016 - Untangling Police Poll Data
November 4, 2016 - Video visits are not #RealVisits
September 29, 2016 - The criminal justice system is riddled with racial disparities
August 19, 2016 - Prison commissary giants prepare to merge
July 7, 2016 - New report and infographic: How does your state's incarceration rate compare to the nations of the world?
June 16, 2016 - New Research Clearinghouse updates for June 9, 2016
June 9, 2016 - New Report: Incarceration and supervision by state
June 1, 2016 - Tallying the extent of the Clinton-era crime bills
May 25, 2016 - President Obama's record on clemency: A premature celebration
May 19, 2016 - New Report: Money bail and the poverty of people in jails
May 10, 2016 - 20 years is enough: Time to repeal the Prison Litigation Reform Act
May 6, 2016 - Seeing eye to eye: understanding the limits of video visitation
April 22, 2016 - Driver's license victory in Massachusetts
March 17, 2016 - This Pi Day, new report, Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2016
March 14, 2016 - FCC, your work isn't over. Protect families from new technologies.
February 12, 2016 - Report: Is electronic messaging in prisons and jails innovative or exploitative?
January 21, 2016 - Massachusetts is one step closer to ending relic from War on Drugs
January 15, 2016 - Year in Review
December 31, 2015 - New report: Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2015
December 8, 2015 - This Giving Tuesday, help us uncover the U.S. incarceration crisis
December 1, 2015 - New report: How does women’s incarceration in your state compare to countries across the world?
November 18, 2015 - A historic victory for prison and jail phone justice
October 22, 2015 - Separation by Bars and Miles: New report finds that great distances discourage visits
October 20, 2015 - FCC commissioners reveal details of their proposal to protect all families of incarcerated people
October 1, 2015 - Jails matter. But who is listening?
September 25, 2015 - Prison industry vendors react to "prison reform" talk
September 3, 2015 - New BJS report shows suicide in jails is a national crisis
August 4, 2015 - PPI's recent collaborations with its Young Professionals Network and interns
July 22, 2015 - New report provides the pre-incarceration incomes of the imprisoned
July 9, 2015 - Uncovering Securus' prison phone profits
July 6, 2015 - The prison phone industry's new business model: Fee Harvesting
June 25, 2015 - New animation illustrates the real size of Connecticut Sentencing Enhancement Zones
June 18, 2015 - In memory of Nils Christie, 1928-2015
June 10, 2015 - Securus ends its ban on in-person visits, shifts responsibility to sheriffs
May 6, 2015 - Steep costs of phone calls, for-profit video visits, high-fee release cards, and more
April 14, 2015 - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should regulate jail release cards
March 18, 2015 - New Study: Maryland taxpayers spend $288 million a year to incarcerate people from Baltimore City
February 25, 2015 - New videos: Video visitation is not "just like Skype"
February 18, 2015 - Portland, Oregon Sheriff reverses ban on in-person visits in Multnomah County jails!
February 9, 2015 - Prison and Jail Video Visitation: A forward-looking idea implemented badly
January 14, 2015 - Best of 2014
December 29, 2014 - Serial's $2,500 Phone Bill and the Prison-Calling Racket
December 18, 2014 - New opportunity to weigh in on FCC prison phone regulation
December 2, 2014 - Dallas County approves video visitation contract
November 12, 2014 - FCC's new prison phone ruling released
October 27, 2014 - FCC considers next steps to protect families from predatory prison and jail telephone industry
October 17, 2014 - Annual Report, FCC prison and jail phone reform, and more
October 3, 2014 - New figures show that mass incarceration is getting bigger
September 16, 2014 - Dallas County protects visting hours, rejects Securus video visitation contract
September 10, 2014 - PPI’s Aleks Kajstura presents at FCC workshop on further regulation of the prison phone industry
August 22, 2014 - High prison phone rates cost parents their parental rights
August 12, 2014 - The Atlantic: Leader of the Unfree World
July 24, 2014 - How does incarceration in your state measure up in the global context?
June 12, 2014 - Three massive new briefings on race, rates and states
May 29, 2014 - Mass., stop suspending driver's licenses for unrelated drug convictions!
May 22, 2014 - PPI helps VlogBrothers take on mass incarceration
April 10, 2014 - New report exposes flaws in Connecticut's sentencing enhancement zone policy
April 1, 2014 - Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
March 13, 2014 - PPI weighs in on video visitation in New York Times "Room for Debate"
February 24, 2014 - Valentine's Day victory for families
February 14, 2014 - New York Times: Phoning From Prison, at Prices Through the Roof
February 3, 2014 - FCC should remain persistent on prison phone progress
January 17, 2014 - New York Times editorial: Unfair Phone Charges for Inmates
January 7, 2014 - Honoring Nelson Mandela, Freedom Fighter
December 12, 2013 - Tell the FCC to protect ALL families from outrageous prison phone charges
December 4, 2013 - How does the FCC's prison phone regulation affect your phone bill?
November 21, 2013 - Securus thinks families should pay $15 for a single phone call
November 13, 2013 - Zones, phones, and maps, oh my!
October 11, 2013 - New video: Why jails should not ban letters from home
September 9, 2013
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 2,900+ 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.