HELP US END MASS INCARCERATION
The Prison Policy Initiative uses research, advocacy, and organizing to dismantle mass incarceration. We’ve been in this movement for 24 years, thanks to individual donors like you.
Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
The Racial Geography of Mass Incarceration
by Peter Wagner and Daniel Kopf
July, 2015
- Report
- Press release
- Appendices:
- Appendix A: Counties: Total, incarcerated and non-incarcerated populations by race/ethnicity and ratios of overrepresentation
- Appendix B: Percentiles of County Ratios by State for Blacks
- Appendix C: Percentiles of County Ratios by State for Latinos
- Appendix D: Portion of each state's incarcerated population that is incarcerated in disproportionately White counties
Recommended Reading:
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
The rapid & unregulated growth of e-messaging in prisons
It can strengthen connections, but instead has been used to sap money from incarcerated people.
Incarceration and supervision by states
Probation and parole are the leading forms of mass punishment in America.
Prison Gerrymandering Project
We are leading the movement to protect our democracy from the Census Bureau's prison miscount.
Events
- November 12-14, 2025:
Members of our Research team, Wendy Sawyer and Jacob Kang-Brown will be attending the American Society of Criminology annual meeting in Washington, D.C. from November 12 through the 14th. Please reach out if you’d like to set up a meeting.
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.