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Prison Policy Initiative @PrisonPolicy

Challenging mass incarceration and over-criminalization through research, advocacy, and organizing. Get email updates: prisonpolicy.org/subscribe/

Joined October 2009
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3,823 Photos and videos
🚨NEW REPORT: Most people think of probation and parole as pathways away from the carceral system — but that couldn't be further from the truth. New data reveal how community supervision has grown in parallel with mass incarceration and widened the net of social control 🧵
Graph showing the growth of mass incarceration and mass supervision in the U.S.

ALT Graph showing the growth of mass incarceration and mass supervision in the U.S.

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Mass incarceration is shaving years off people's lives. Older adults who have ever been behind bars are expected to live nearly 6 fewer years than similar peers who have never been incarcerated:
Chart showing that formerly incarcerated men and women aged 51 have a life expectancy of six fewer years than people without a history of incarceration.

ALT Chart showing that formerly incarcerated men and women aged 51 have a life expectancy of six fewer years than people without a history of incarceration.
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1 in 61 people nationwide are under some form of correctional control — and the vast majority of them are on probation or parole. Mass punishment in the U.S. is off the charts, even in "progressive" states.
Graph showing mass punishment rates by state as of 2026

ALT Graph showing mass punishment rates by state as of 2026

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Trump's deportation agenda isn't possible without the help of local law enforcement, and sheriffs know that. Even in states like Maryland, where formal agreements with ICE are banned, many people have been detained by ICE via informal local cooperation: nytimes.com/2026/06/12/us/sh…

Sheriffs in Maryland Challenge State Limits on Cooperation With ICE (Gift Article)

A lawsuit by a group of 17 county law enforcement officers is another front in the Trump-era fight over local police’s role in immigration enforcement.

nytimes.com
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Importantly, the people victimized by informal collaborations between ICE & local police are often ordinary residents who come in contact with the law through commonplace interactions, like a traffic stop. For example 👇 theintercept.com/2025/07/09/…

Georgia Police Arrest Farmworkers — Then Get Warrants From DHS

Georgia authorities said their goal was to serve warrants for crimes against children. They swept people up and got immigration detainers later.

theintercept.com
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Banning formal contracts with ICE is not enough. To actually keep communities safe, states must go beyond that and block all informal collaboration with federal agencies as well. Learn more 👇 prisonpolicy.org/blog/2025/1…

New ICE arrest data show the power of state and local governments to curtail mass deportations

Using fresh data on ICE arrests through mid-October from the Deportation Data Project, we examine how jails continue to facilitate mass deportation, spotlighting important opportunities ...

prisonpolicy.org
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“We were the ones who shoveled the snow during the winter... We are the ones serving the food, we are the ones who clean the units, we are the ones who clean the bathrooms.” The carceral system runs on exploitation. ballsandstrikes.org/law-poli…

The Delaney Hall Strike Is Exposing a Massive Thirteenth Amendment Crisis

The Delaney Hall Strike participants haven’t been convicted of anything—and are still being forced to work for nothing.

ballsandstrikes.org
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Prison Policy Initiative retweeted
Bolts@boltsmag
Jun 12
We asked for your questions about how police track personal data and now, Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, an expert on digital surveillance, has answers: “If you create the data, they can come for it. And you create a lot of data every day,” he says. boltsmag.org/everything-ever…

“Everything, Everywhere, All at Once Surveillance”: Your Questions Answered

A legal expert on digital surveillance answers questions from Bolts readers about how police track your personal data, and what public officials could be doing to restrict it.

boltsmag.org
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Prison Policy Initiative retweeted
National Harm Reduction Coalition@HarmReduction
Jun 12
🧵We honor the Black revolutionaries who made emancipation & #Juneteenth possible, & the Black changemakers fighting for social justice today in #HarmReduction & interconnected movements. While we celebrate Black resilience & joy as a form of resistance, we also recognize how...
Over black background, all caps, bold neon green font at top center reads, "JUNETEENTH" with smaller hot pink text below reading, "06/19/1865". Black and white textured images of various fists in the air fill most of graphic. Framing graphic at left and right are neon green and hot pink "twinkle" icons. Over hot pink box below, smaller black all caps font reads, "WE RECHARGE TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT FOR BLACK LIVES." Below this over black border, neon green and pink text at bottom left reads, "Our office is closed the week of June 15-June 19 in observance of Juneteenth as a period of institutional pause, rest, and recharging." At bottom right is pink/purple gradient NHRC 30th anniversary logo.

ALT Over black background, all caps, bold neon green font at top center reads, "JUNETEENTH" with smaller hot pink text below reading, "06/19/1865". Black and white textured images of various fists in the air fill most of graphic. Framing graphic at left and right are neon green and hot pink "twinkle" icons. Over hot pink box below, smaller black all caps font reads, "WE RECHARGE TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT FOR BLACK LIVES." Below this over black border, neon green and pink text at bottom left reads, "Our office is closed the week of June 15-June 19 in observance of Juneteenth as a period of institutional pause, rest, and recharging." At bottom right is pink/purple gradient NHRC 30th anniversary logo.

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Prison Policy Initiative retweeted
Inquest@_inquest_
Jun 12
"The prison journalist needs what every journalist needs: the ability to speak freely with a range of sources, to publish truthfully without fear of reprisal, and to work in a safe, well-compensated, union-eligible newsroom." — @dnbrgr inquest.org/speaking-power-t…

Speaking Power to Power - Dan Berger - Inquest

An increased visibility of prison journalism is vitally necessary, though it alone will not turn the tide of a sclerotic, brutal political system.

inquest.org
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“No one in America was sentenced to die of heatstroke in a prison." As temperatures soar across the U.S., prisons become increasingly deadly. Must-read 👇 reuters.com/graphics/USA-TEM…

Scorching cells

How heat threatens lives in America’s prisons

reuters.com
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Older adults who have ever been behind bars are expected to live nearly 6 fewer years than similar peers who have never been incarcerated. Mass incarceration is shaving years off people's lives:
Chart showing that formerly incarcerated men and women aged 51 have a life expectancy of six fewer years than people without a history of incarceration.

ALT Chart showing that formerly incarcerated men and women aged 51 have a life expectancy of six fewer years than people without a history of incarceration.

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The effects of incarceration follow people long after their sentences end. Learn more from our recent briefing 👇 prisonpolicy.org/blog/2026/0…

New research: How past incarceration affects people later in life

Two recent studies authored by Professor Carmen Gutierrez and her colleagues show that prior incarceration is associated with various geriatric health conditions and reduced life ...

prisonpolicy.org
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Thousands of people detained by ICE are actually held in local, publicly operated jails. These facilities–run by elected sheriffs–are making money off of the federal government's deportation agenda.
U.S. map showing that in 25 states and D.C., federal agencies like ICE and the U.S. Marshals only detain people using local jails. In other states, jails play a part in the detention network alongside federal or private facilities. In Arizona, Delaware, and Hawaii no local jails provide substantial detention space to these agencies.

ALT U.S. map showing that in 25 states and D.C., federal agencies like ICE and the U.S. Marshals only detain people using local jails. In other states, jails play a part in the detention network alongside federal or private facilities. In Arizona, Delaware, and Hawaii no local jails provide substantial detention space to these agencies.

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🚨NEW: Incarceration is shaving years off people's lives. Research shows that older adults who have ever been behind bars have alarming health issues and are expected to live nearly 6 fewer years. The effects of incarceration follow people long after their sentences end. 🧵
Chart showing that formerly incarcerated men and women aged 51 have a life expectancy of six fewer years than people without a history of incarceration.

ALT Chart showing that formerly incarcerated men and women aged 51 have a life expectancy of six fewer years than people without a history of incarceration.

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As millions of formerly incarcerated people age into older adulthood, approximately 1 in 15 adults aged 50 now has a history of incarceration, facing an elevated risk of death and serious medical conditions. It's clear that mass incarceration has created a public health crisis.
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Learn more 👇 prisonpolicy.org/blog/2026/0…

New research: How past incarceration affects people later in life

Two recent studies authored by Professor Carmen Gutierrez and her colleagues show that prior incarceration is associated with various geriatric health conditions and reduced life ...

prisonpolicy.org
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