Prison Policy Initiative newsletter archive
Periodic news on the Prison Policy Initiative and our work to expose the broader harm of mass incarceration.
- NEW DATA: In the first year of COVID, deaths behind bars were up, releases were down
January 11, 2022 - Research roundup: The positive impacts of family contact for incarcerated people and their families
January 4, 2022 - 11 of our most important reports of 2021
December 20, 2021 - Since you asked: What information is available about COVID-19 and vaccinations in prison now?
December 16, 2021 - 30 winnable state criminal justice reforms in 2022
December 15, 2021 - Recent studies shed light on what reproductive “choice” looks like in prisons and jails
December 8, 2021 - For the poorest people in prison, it’s a struggle to access even basic necessities
November 18, 2021 - New report: Tracking the companies that have a lock on sending funds to incarcerated people
November 9, 2021 - The CFPB’s enforcement order against prison profiteer JPay, explained
October 28, 2021 - Despite Delta variant threat, jails & prisons still putting incarcerated people at risk
October 21, 2021 - Native people in prisons and jails: data for Indigenous Peoples' Day
October 8, 2021 - NEW REPORT: How does your state compare to the rest of the world on incarceration? Spoiler: It's not good.
September 8, 2021 - NEW 50-STATE REPORT: Grading prison system responses to COVID-19
September 1, 2021 - New research paints a bleak picture of being pregnant, postpartum or giving birth while incarcerated
August 19, 2021 - How good is your state's public defense system?
July 27, 2021 - New report: Diversion programs explained
July 20, 2021 - Having an incarcerated loved one tied to shorter life expectancies and poorer health
July 13, 2021 - The worst jail assessment we’ve ever seen
July 6, 2021 - New Data: Jail deaths at record level...even before the pandemic
June 24, 2021 - New data shows alarming rises in suicide, homicide, and drug and alcohol-related deaths in state prisons.
June 9, 2021 - Low COVID-19 vaccination rates mean incarcerated people are still at serious risk
May 19, 2021 - Since you asked: How incarceration exacerbates mental illness
May 14, 2021 - What drives city incarceration? Not crime rates...
May 7, 2021 - Over half of all women in U.S. prisons are mothers.
May 5, 2021 - Data: How COVID-19 increased death rates in Florida prisons
April 28, 2021 - It is time for Congress to repeal the Prison Litigation Reform Act
April 26, 2021 - Low rates of COVID-19 vaccinations among corrections officers put incarcerated people at serious risk
April 22, 2021 - Violent crimes against Black and Latinx people receive less coverage and less justice
March 18, 2021 - With a new victory in Iowa, our movement to end prison phone exploitation picks up speed
March 10, 2021 - New graphs reveal overrepresentation of LGBTQ people in the criminal justice system
March 2, 2021 - New 50-state report: How excluding people with criminal records hurts jury diversity
February 18, 2021 - New data clarifies the link between homelessness and incarceration
February 10, 2021 - Parole boards released fewer people in 2020 than 2019, despite pandemic
February 3, 2021 - Parole boards released fewer people in 2020 than 2019, despite pandemic
February 3, 2021 - 27 state criminal justice reforms that are ripe for victory in 2021
January 27, 2021 - Why aren't more states using "good time" credits to get people out of prison?
January 12, 2021 - Incarcerated people are eligible for the new round of stimulus payments
December 30, 2020 - Prisons shouldn’t be charging medical co-pays – especially during a pandemic
December 21, 2020 - NEW 50-STATE REPORT: Mass incarceration led to huge increase in national COVID-19 caseloads
December 15, 2020 - New 48-state survey shows which states are prioritizing people in prison for the COVID-19 vaccine
December 9, 2020 - New data: Prisons and jails fail to reduce populations as COVID-19 cases climb
December 2, 2020 - There's now overwhelming evidence that reducing pretrial populations doesn't hurt public safety
November 18, 2020 - The promise - and peril - of Joe Biden's criminal justice reform platform
November 16, 2020 - How the war on drugs is driving women's incarceration
November 11, 2020 - We analyze the new BJS data on US prison populations and Indian country jails
October 30, 2020 - D.C. data sheds new light on punishments for "technical violations"
October 28, 2020 - New data: Solitary confinement increases risk of death after release
October 14, 2020 - Important updates: Court says IRS can’t deny economic stimulus payments to incarcerated people
October 8, 2020 - NEW: 50-state guide explains who can vote in jail and the barriers to jail voting
October 2, 2020 - Why are prisons and jails rolling back free phone calls for families in need?
September 11, 2020 - Halfway houses, explained
September 10, 2020 - Why lawmakers must do more to support reentry during the pandemic
September 2, 2020 - The most valuable online resources about American policing
August 28, 2020 - Half of states fail to require mask use by correctional staff
August 14, 2020 - New data: Coronavirus isn't over, but most jail populations are rising again
August 5, 2020 - 17 new charts illustrating the racial disparities in mass incarceration
July 28, 2020 - New 50-state report from ACLU and Prison Policy Initiative grades states' COVID-19 responses
June 25, 2020 - A legislative guide for winnable, high-impact criminal justice reforms
June 11, 2020 - 10 key facts from our work about policing in America
June 5, 2020 - Our new infographic shows the dysfunction of "compassionate release"
May 29, 2020 - Senseless “program requirements” keeping people behind bars during a pandemic
May 22, 2020 - The IRS is wrong: Incarcerated people qualify for stimulus checks
May 20, 2020 - Updated report: State and federal prisons lag behind local jails in reducing their populations
May 14, 2020 - New resource: the states with the "oldest" prison populations
May 12, 2020 - Some federal courts are issuing orders to reduce pretrial detention
May 6, 2020 - New BJS reports show correctional populations are stagnant, but demographics are changing
May 5, 2020 - State and federal prisons lag behind local jails in reducing their populations
May 1, 2020 - Hundreds are still jailed for technical parole violations in NYC. Why?
April 24, 2020 - How prepared are state prison systems for a viral pandemic?
April 10, 2020 - We can safely release thousands of people from prison right now - history proves it
April 9, 2020 - NEW REPORT: Why states should stop excluding violent offenses from criminal justice reforms
April 7, 2020 - Special report: what the criminal justice system still needs to do to fight COVID-19
March 27, 2020 - NEW REPORT: Mass Incarceration - The Whole Pie 2020
March 24, 2020 - We're tracking what prisons and jails are doing about COVID-19
March 17, 2020 - Special edition: Five lessons pandemics can teach us about criminal justice reform
March 6, 2020 - New report and data: The geography of incarceration in New York
February 19, 2020 - The new BJS statistics on prison and jail mortality, explained
February 13, 2020 - How counties can strike fairer contracts for jail services
February 7, 2020 - “What percent of the U.S. is incarcerated?” (And other ways to measure mass incarceration)
January 16, 2020 - New report reveals where 48,000 children and teens are locked up and why
December 19, 2019 - New report: State criminal justice reforms that can win in 2020
December 12, 2019 - How prisons neglect pregnant women: a 50-state survey
December 5, 2019 - "Consumer protections" are very different for people in prison
November 21, 2019 - Why is the government releasing less data about the criminal justice system?
November 14, 2019 - New report, Women's Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie, shows that the number of women in local jails is growing
October 29, 2019 - A review of our work over the last year: new data, graphics, and policy victories
October 17, 2019 - How race impacts who is detained pretrial
October 9, 2019 - New analysis shows that local jails impact more people than you think
September 18, 2019 - Mapping the biggest prison phone injustices by state
September 11, 2019 - New Prison Policy Initiative report: How many people go to county jails every year?
August 26, 2019 - After Pell Grants were cut, college participation in prisons dropped by half
August 22, 2019 - Illinois becomes the third state in 2019 to reform harmful prison co-pays
August 8, 2019 - Too many women are leaving prison and jail with no resources or support
July 24, 2019 - 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:
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the criminal justice system
Our central hub of data, research, and policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in jails and prisons.
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.