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.
- COVID-19 (80) Research on the pandemic’s impact on prisons and jails
- Community impact (116) Research on the impact of the criminal legal system on housing, schools, employment, neighborhoods, and more
- Conditions of confinement (277) Research on prison and jail conditions such as solitary confinement, labor, discipline, food, and more
- Courts and trials (168) Research on prosecutors, judges, public defense, court caseloads, and more
- Crime (287) Curated research on crime, crime rates, and victimization
- Death penalty (154) Information and data on capital punishment and executions
- Disability (31) Research on the prevalence of, and challenges faced by, people with disabilities in the criminal legal system
- Drug policy and treatment (182) Research on punishing and treating drug use in the criminal legal system
- Economics of incarceration (182) Research on the economic drivers and consequences of mass incarceration
- Education (134) Curated research on education programs in prisons and the school-to-prison pipeline
- Families (158) Information and data on the criminal legal system’s impacts on families
- Felony disenfranchisement and voting rights (93) Information about laws barring people from the polls because of criminal convictions
- General (170) Broad-based research and information about the criminal legal system
- Gun control (45) Information and data about gun violence, firearms, and gun control policy
- Health and healthcare (223) Research on access to healthcare, chronic and infectious disease, mortality, and more
- Immigration (75) Research on the incarceration and detainment of immigrants
- Incarceration rates and trends (339) Research documenting the growth of prison and jail populations
- International incarceration (45) Curated research on incarceration trends worldwide, and how they compare to the U.S.
- Jails (293) Research on jail populations, jail conditions, jail construction, and more
- LGBTQ (26) Information and data on the mass criminalization and incarceration of LGBTQ+ people
- Mental health (89) Research on the prevalence and treatment of mental illness in the criminal legal system
- Policing (274) Information and data on arrests, traffic stops, law enforcement interactions, and more
- Poverty and wealth (164) Research on fines, fees, debt, and the criminalization of poor people
- Pretrial detention (133) Research on the costs and outcomes of detaining people before trial
- Prison gerrymandering (20) Research on prison-based gerrymandering (see also www.prisonersofthecensus.org)
- Privatization (104) Information and data on how private companies exploit incarcerated people and their families
- Probation and parole (129) Information about community supervision policies, conditions, violations, and more
- Public opinion (51) Research on public perceptions of crime, prison, reform, and more
- Racial and ethnic disparities (188) Research and statistics on racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal legal system
- Reentry and recidivism (256) Information and research on the challenges and outcomes for people released from incarceration, including collateral consequences
- Sentencing policy (144) Research on the rise and impact of excessive criminal sentences
- Sex-related convictions (18) Research about the unique punishment of sex-related crimes through registries, civil commitment, and other means
- Women and gender (146) Information and data on gender disparities in the criminal legal system
- Youth and juvenile justice (400) Research about youth in the criminal legal system
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Advanced search options or view entire database by the date added.
Some of the most recently added reports are:
Thursday, July 3 2025:
- Who Benefits from Automatic Record Relief in California?,
California Policy Lab.
October, 2024.
"We estimate nearly 70% of people with a conviction between 2010-2021 are eligible to have all convictions and non-convictions automatically relieved, leaving them with no remaining criminal record."
- Estimating the impact: How many people are excluded from Fair Housing protections because of a past drug conviction?,
Prison Policy Initiative.
February, 2025.
"By our count, [the Thurmond Amendment] makes it more difficult for as many as 3 million people with these kinds of convictions to secure housing."
- Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Contentious Issue,
Graham C. Ousey and Charis E. Kubrin.
January, 2018.
"[These findings] call into question those theories that advance a strong positive association between immigration and crime, regardless of the mechanism suggested."
- Administrative Nullification and the Precarity of Carceral Reform,
Riley Doyle Evans and Stefen R. Short.
May, 2025.
"In a carceral reform context, administrative nullification disempowers incarcerated people and their advocates and thwarts the democratization of carceral power, retrenching that power in the prison system."
- Vulnerable yet Unprotected: The Hidden Curriculum of the Care of the Incarcerated Patient,
Michelle Ihn Suh and Marc David Robinson.
December, 2022.
"Trainees routinely perform substandard history taking and physical examinations due to indiscriminate shackling and the presence of guards who are actually nonclinical observers outside of the care team."
- Individual- and Area-Level Incarceration and Mortality,
Utsha G. Khatri et al.
June, 2025.
"Individuals who were incarcerated faced significantly higher risks of death, particularly from overdoses, and elevated county incarceration rates exacerbated individual-level mortality risks."
- Rethinking Immigration Enforcement,
Charis Elizabeth Kubrin.
June, 2025.
"Local involvement in immigration enforcement...[is] often justified by the claim that immigrants pose a significant threat to public safety--a claim not supported by evidence."
- ICE Detention at Plymouth County Correctional Facility,
Boston University School of Law's Immigrants' Rights and Human Trafficking Program and Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts.
September, 2024.
"Consistent complaints over the last twenty-five years reveal a disturbing pattern of systemic abuse and mistreatment of ICE detainees at Plymouth County Correctional Facility."
- New research finds higher county jail rates have deadly consequences for entire communities,
Prison Policy Initiative.
January, 2025.
"A recent study from a researcher at University of Pennsylvania finds that higher jail rates are associated with higher death rates, especially for Black people and women."
- Despite fewer people experiencing police contact, racial disparities in arrests, police misconduct, and police use of force continue,
Prison Policy Initiative.
December, 2024.
"New Bureau of Justice Statistics data reveal that concerning trends in policing persisted in 2022, even while fewer people interacted with police than in prior years."
- Report of the New York State Bar Association Task Force on the Parole System,
New York State Bar Association.
November, 2019.
"There is little or no evidence that the current revocation process for persons accused of technical parole violations in New York actually enhances public safety or reduces recidivism as intended."
- Beyond Recidivism: A Systematic Review Exploring Comprehensive Criteria for Successful Reintegration After Prison Release,
Ana Mourao et al.
May, 2025.
"Reintegration is a complex and multifaceted process influenced by factors at different levels--individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and political."
- Treatment and Care of Incarcerated Females,
Louisiana Legislative Auditor.
May, 2025.
"We found that none of Louisiana's local jails, which house 87.2% of incarcerated women in Louisiana, have sufficient, written procedures encompassing all requirements in state law regarding female incarceration."