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 (79) The pandemic’s impact on prisons and jails
- Community Impact (266) Impact of justice system on communities, includes housing, employment, schools
- Conditions of Confinement (409)
- Crime and Crime Rates (381) Information on type of crime/frequency
- Death Penalty (164) Data, policy, and analysis of the death penalty
- Disability (27)
- Drug Policy (231) Analysis of drug policy and its effects on the prison system
- Economics of Incarceration (306) The economic drivers and consequences of mass incarceration
- Education (129) Correctional education and the school-to-prison pipeline
- Families (146) The justice system's impact on families.
- Felon Disenfranchisement (105) Barring people from the polls because of criminal convictions
- General (164) Atlases, indices, and broad-based source material
- Gun Control (50) Statistics on gun violence, suggestions for gun control
- Health impact (348) Public health, access to healthcare, and mortality
- Immigration (69) Detainment practices and statistics
- Incarceration Rates Growth Causes (477)
- International Incarceration Comparisons (58)
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Some of the most recently added reports are:
Wednesday, October 9 2024:
Tuesday, October 8 2024:
- Locked into Emissions:
How Mass Incarceration Contributes to Climate Change,
Julius A. McGee & Patrick T. Greiner.
November, 2020.
"We find that increases in incarceration within states are associated with increases in industrial emissions, and that increases in incarceration lead to a more tightly coupled association between gross domestic product per capita & industrial emissions."
- Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Exposure Risks in US Carceral Facilities, 2022
Lindsay Poirier, Derrick Salvatore, Phil Brown, et al.
May, 2024.
"5% of US carceral facilities have at least 1 known source of PFAS contamination... also 47% have at least 1 presumptive source [of PFAS exposure]. A minimum of 990 000 people are incarcerated in these facilities, including at least 12,800 juveniles."
- Prison disciplinary fines only further impoverish incarcerated people and families
Prison Policy Initiative.
February, 2024.
"In 16 prison systems, we found policies referencing fines and/or fees related to confirmed disciplinary violations (where someone is found guilty or pleads guilty)."
- The aging prison population:
Causes, costs, and consequences,
Prison Policy Initiative.
August, 2023.
"According to the most recent data on local jails in the U.S., from 2020-2021 ...the segment of the jail population aged 55+ grew by a greater proportion than any other age group, 24% compared to an average increase of 15% across all other ages."
- Prescription Patterns in Jails Before and Since the COVID-19 Pandemic:
A Multisite Serial Cross-Sectional Investigation,
Amber H. Simpler, William Jett, Abdullah Ahsan, & Yash Arun Patade.
August, 2024.
"[From 2019-2023], the number of prescriptions in jails for various drug classes [grew], particularly central nervous system agents (13.5% to 17.7%)...The increase in prescriptions points toward a growing demand for managing pain, psychiatric conditions..."
- Health, Access to Care, and Financial Barriers to Care Among People Incarcerated in US Prisons
Paywall :(
Emily Lupton Lupez, Steffie Woolhandler, David U. Himmelstein, et al.
August, 2024.
"Of pregnant people [in state prison] with a co-pay greater than 1 week's [prison] wage, 12% had no obstetrical examination and 62% had no pregnancy education [after admission to prison]."
- Peer Education as a Tool to Improve Health Knowledge for People Who Are Incarcerated:
A Secondary Analysis of Data From the Indiana Peer Education Program ECHO,
Andrea D. Janota, Patrick F. Hibbard, Meghan E. Meadows, et al.
August, 2024.
"Training individuals who are [in prison in Indiana] as peer educators on relevant public health topics increases health knowledge and behavior intentions and likely results in improvements in personal and public health outcomes."
- End-of-Life Care Planning:
Perspectives of Returning Citizens, Paywall :(
Erin Kitt-Lewis & Susan J. Loeb.
April, 2024.
"Most of the participating returning citizens [in the qualitative study] did not have even a basic understanding of advanced directives/care planning."
- Disparities in Medication Use for Criminal Justice System-Referred Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
J. Travis Donahoe, Julie M. Donohue, & Brendan K. Saloner.
September, 2024.
"49% of individuals referred to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment by noncriminal justice sources received MOUD. A total of 34% of individuals referred to treatment by criminal justice sources received the same treatment."
- The Perils of Late-Night Releases
Sandra Susan Smith.
June, 2024.
"Within 185 of the 200 most populated cities in the United States, there are 141 jails. Of the 141 jails, 131 release during the late night and only 10 do not."
- Racial/ethnic disparities in police recovery of stolen property:
A previously unexplored facet of police/victim interaction, Paywall :(
Alexander J. Vanhee.
October, 2024.
"Analyses of victim race suggested that Black, Asian, and Native American victims were all less likely to have their property recovered than white ones."
- Not an alternative:
The myths, harms, and expansion of pretrial electronic monitoring,
Prison Policy Initiative.
October, 2023.
"Jail populations in many jurisdictions have remained essentially the same or have even increased while [electronic monitoring] usage has skyrocketed, significantly increasing the total number of people under surveillance."
- Does pretrial detention influence time until re-involvement with the criminal legal system?
Paywall :(
Ian A. Silve, Jason Walker, Matthew DeMichele, et al.
September, 2024.
"Spending 2-3 days, 3-7 days, & >7 days in pretrial detention was associated with an increased probability of a new criminal arrest & new violent criminal arrest earlier...compared to spending 0-1 day in pretrial detention."
- No Release:
Parole grant rates have plummeted in most states since the pandemic started,
Prison Policy Initiative.
October, 2023.
"In the 29 states for which we collected 2022 parole approval data, only 8 had grant rates above 50% - Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming."
- Two years after the end of Roe v. Wade,
most women on probation & parole have to ask permission to travel for abortion care,
Prison Policy Initiative.
June, 2024.
"In all, 41 states have some kind of abortion ban in place, whether "total bans" or bans based on gestational duration. In every one of these states, standard conditions of probation and/or parole require permission to travel out of state or county."
- Do Parole Technical Violators Pose a Safety Threat?
An Analysis of Prison Misconduct, Paywall :(
Erin A. Orrick & Robert G. Morris.
November, 2019.
"Based on the official disciplinary records from male inmates readmitted to prison for technical violations and new offenses, technical violators were found to be significantly less likely to engage in any form of prison misconduct."
- Association between willingness to use an overdose prevention center and probation or parole status
among people who use drugs in Rhode Island,
Michael Tan, Carolyn Park, Jacqueline Goldman, et al.
February, 2024.
"Most participants (71%) reported willingness to use an overdose prevention center (OPC), and... willingness to use an OPC did not vary by probation/parole status."
- Mortality Disparities Among Arrestees by Race, Sentencing Disposition, and Place
George Zuo, Beau Kilmer, & Nancy Nicosia.
July, 2024.
"In terms of racial disparities, all-cause mortality risk was 2.37 (95% CI, 1.95-2.88) times higher for American Indian/Alaska Native than White arrestees in the arrest-only disposition."
- Bias, Distrust, and Trauma
Racial Disparities in Boston Residents' Experiences with Law Enforcement and Related Outcomes,
Sandra Susan Smith.
May, 2024.
"With few exceptions, Black Bostonians experience disparate treatment by law enforcement within categories of gender, age, educational attainment, neighborhood of residence, and income status."
- "Expected to happen":
perspectives on post-release overdose from recently incarcerated people with opioid use disorder,
Pryce S. Michener, Elyse Bianchet, Shannon Fox, et al.
July, 2024.
"This study provides novel insights into the perceptions of post-release overdose risk from people with OUD who have experienced incarceration in Massachusetts jails and received MOUD while incarcerated."