Research Library:
Our mission is to empower activists, journalists, and policymakers to shape effective criminal justice policy, so we go beyond our original reports and analyses to curate a database of virtually all the empirical criminal justice research available online.
Tips: If you know what you are looking for, you may also search the database. We also have an email newsletter (at right)(at bottom) for new research library updates.
- Community Impact (189) Impact of justice system on communities, includes housing, employment, schools
- Conditions of Confinement (312)
- Crime and Crime Rates (348) Information on type of crime/frequency
- Death Penalty (158) Data, policy, and analysis of the death penalty
- Disability (19)
- Drug Policy (203) Analysis of drug policy and its effects on the prison system
- Economics of Incarceration (249) The economic drivers and consequences of mass incarceration
- Education (114) Correctional education and the school-to-prison pipeline
- Families (119) The justice system's impact on families.
- Felon Disenfranchisement (98) Barring people from the polls because of criminal convictions
- General (101) Atlases, indices, and broad-based source material
- Gun Control (46) Statistics on gun violence, suggestions for gun control
- Health impact (211) Public health, access to healthcare, and mortality
- Immigration (66) Detainment practices and statistics
- Incarceration Rates Growth Causes (445)
- International Incarceration Comparisons (54)
- Jails (213) Information and data on jails
- LGBT (19)
- Mental Health (126) Policies and practices surrounding mental health
- Police and Policing (273)
- Poverty and wealth (94)
- Pretrial Detention (105) Exploring cost and outcome of detaining people before trial or deportation (ie. instead of bail or other alternatives)
- Prison Gerrymandering (34) Research on prison-based gerrymandering (see also www.prisonersofthecensus.org)
- Privatization (85)
- Probation and parole (67)
- Public Opinion (68)
- Race and ethnicity (323)
- Recidivism and Reentry (306) What makes people more or less likely to succeed upon release?
- Sentencing Policy and Practices (229) Relating to sentencing policy.
- Sexual offenses (44)
- Trials (181) Statistics about the court system and its processes
- Women (156) Impact of the criminal justice system on women
- Youth (431) Criminal justice and young persons, the prison system’s effect on their lives
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Some of the most recently added reports are:
Thursday, May 13 2021:
- How Much Criminal Justice Debt Does the U.S. Really Have? Fines & Fees Justice Center. April, 2021.
- The Legacy of Slavery and Mass Incarceration: Evidence from Felony Case Outcomes, Aaron Gottlieb and Kalen Flynn. March, 2021.
Tuesday, May 11 2021:
- A First Step, a Second Chance: Public Support for Restoring Rights of Individuals with Prior Convictions, Paywall :( Christina Mancini, Robyn McDougle, and Brittany Keegan. November, 2020.
Recommended Reading:
Five ways the criminal justice system could slow the pandemic
Quick action could slow the spread of the viral pandemic in prisons and jails and in society as a whole
The "services" offered by jails don't make them safe places for vulnerable people
Even in the best of times, jails are not good at providing health and social services.
The most important statistics from our work on policing
Racial disparities, bloated budgets, the criminalization of homelessness, and more.
Is social distancing possible behind bars?
No. It's even harder than on cruise ships or in nursing homes.