Mass incarceration. This Report’s Purpose.

Mass incarceration One in every five state and federal prisoners in the United States has tested positive for the coronavirus, a rate more than four Jan 16, 2024 · Introduction: How Socioeconomic Disparities Fuel Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Imprisonment. One of the most important criminal legal system disparities in New York has long been difficult to decipher: Which communities throughout the state do incarcerated people come from? 1 day ago · The first time I saw Matt Mahan’s name was on a lawn sign during his run for the mayor of San Jose. Jul 18, 2018 · More than 70 percent of Americans, including a majority of Trump voters, agree that it’s important to reduce the prison population. [28]Year Count Rate 1940 264,834 201 1950 264,620 The historic roots of mass incarceration. The article takes an analytical perspective in reviewing the fact that the majority of African Americans in the prison population are not there for violent crimes, but yet, African Americans contribute to the mass color of In 1970, the era of mass incarceration began. Jan 1, 2017 · This article looks at the issue of incarceration with a focus on the number of African Americans both male and female who are now incarcerated in the United States. Swipe for more detail on the War on Drugs. became the world leader in prison population and how it can reduce mass incarceration. We’re talking about millions of people, way more than any other country in the world. has had COVID-19, 1,700 have died. The web page explains the enormous, racist carceral system, the network of social forces and actors, and the broad set of harms inflicted by mass incarceration. One of the most important criminal legal system disparities in Pennsylvania has long been difficult to quantify: Which communities throughout the Commonwealth do incarcerated people come from? 42 THEMIS . While the data is not comparable between states, it does show us meaningful patterns in incarceration and researchers, scholars, advocates, and politicians can use the data in this report to advocate for programs and services “The injustices of mass incarceration have harshly affected my family for generations. following more than two years of work. For a nation “conceived in Liberty,” as Abraham Lincoln emphasized with a capital L in hand-writing his Gettysburg Address, it should be shocking that the United States has locked up almost a quarter of the prisoners in the world despite having less than 5 percent of the population. How to find audio and video on mass incarceration at NYU Libraries Sep 26, 2021 · As has been well-documented in recent decades, mass incarceration is a deeply racialized phenomenon. Jan 28, 2025 · Meet us. I recently had the chance to visit the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, thanks to my job, and it was a truly unforgettable experience. In 2020, the federal government sued the State of Alabama for violating the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of incarcerated people by “failing to prevent prisoner-on-prisoner violence and sexual abuse, failing to protect prisoners from the use of excessive An Effect of Mass Incarceration Words: 2252 Pages: 8 5050. Vera brings together experts, activists, and policymakers to end mass incarceration. Apr 10, 2020 · Slideshow 3. Alabama’s entire state prison system for men has been declared unconstitutional by the United States Department of Justice. Substance use and intersections with criminal justice system involvement, victimization, HIV, and mental health, particularly in relation to women across the life course and families; informing, developing, and testing interventions to address co-occurring concerns; enhancing the value of scientific findings for use in practice; multigenerational A mericans—black Americans in particular—are incarcerat-ed at jaw-dropping rates. Working directly with communities and campaigns, our legal advocacy tackles the roots of mass incarceration. Our analysis of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections data shows that incarcerated people come from every portion of the state and that some communities bear the heaviest burden from mass incarceration. It was inflamed by campaign rhetoric that focused on an uptick in crime and orchestrated by people in power, including legislators who demanded stricter sentencing laws, state and local executives who ordered law enforcement officers to be tougher on crime, and prison This research cluster seeks to examine punishment and the U. Mass Incarceration and Racial Inequality 1155 crime rates hover near their lowest level in decades, the incarceration rate is three times higher than the rate in 1980. Jan 17, 2024 · Abstract. The United States spends about $270 billion annually on our criminal justice system, with the vast majority of those costs borne by taxpayers. criminal legal system and its costs, drivers, and impacts. Did you know that most of the incarcerated people are released into the free world homeless and penniless? As an organization led by formerly incarcerated people, Witness to Mass Incarceration understands that four pillars are needed to rebuild a successful life after incarceration: housing, employment, trauma-informed care, and community support. The numbers behind the United States’ overreliance on mass incarceration are staggering: we’re home to 4 percent of the world’s population, but nearly 16 percent of all incarcerated people. Indeterminate sentencing systems in which legislatures established maximum sentences, prosecutors processed cases, judges decided who went to prison, and parole boards decided how long people stayed there were replaced by determinate systems Faces of Mass Incarceration is an art project that seeks to humanize people who have been impacted by mass incarceration, first or second hand. This paper aims to analyze the connections between slavery and mass incarceration. Mass incarceration in the United States harms people, families, and entire communities. Today, black men under 35 who have dropped out of high school are more likely to be incarcerated (37 percent) than to hold a Jan 8, 2025 · This guide is dedicated to topics relating to incarceration, the school-to-prison pipeline, sentencing reform, and prison abolition. Explore the factors that shaped the current system, from the Founders to Reagan, and the progress and challenges of reform. 4 days ago · You can use the VINELink website or phone number to locate an inmate being held in one of our facilities. 6 days ago · Easthampton, Mass. In fact, less than 9% of all incarcerated people are held in private prisons; the vast majority are in publicly-owned prisons and jails. Since 1970, our incarcerated population has increased by 500% ­­– 2 million people in jail and prison today, far outpacing population growth and crime. C. The paper then goes on to further explain this concept by examining the constitutional and judicial laws in the United States Jan 19, 2025 · EASTHAMPTON, MA – Recent analysis conducted by the Prison Policy Initiative reveals that mass incarceration, not recruitment failure, is the cause of the “understaffing” issue plaguing jails and prisons. While mass incarceration has emerged as an urgent national issue to be addressed, the reforms currently offered are dwarfed by the scale of the problem. 2 The United States remains a world leader in incarceration, locking up its citizens at a far higher rate than any other industrialized Mar 14, 2023 · This report offers some much-needed clarity by piecing together the data about this country’s disparate systems of confinement. m. Mass Incarceration: Slavery Renamed . Experience with socioeconomic disadvantage is common among many people in prisons, where over two-thirds (69%) of the population are people of color. 5 for every 500. With over 1. Loury, a Fellow of the American Academy since 2000, is the Merton P. Sep 11, 2024 · Mass incarceration is on the ballot A guide to how 19 offices you may be asked to vote on can help end mass incarceration in America. Mar 2, 2023 · The incarceration rate in the United States fell in 2021 to its lowest levels since 1995 – but the U. Mass incarceration is the civil rights crisis of our time. Carceral expansion has had a disproportionate impact on African Americans, who have been imprisoned at a much higher rate than any other ethnic group—1096 per 100,000 U. continues to imprison a higher percentage of its population than almost every other US incarceration count, and rate per 100,000 population. , showing what types of facilities they are in and why. We provide trusted data and research illustrating the harms of mass incarceration, help change state and local laws, and work with prosecutors to reduce incarceration and racial disparities. Second Look Network. incarcerates more people, per capita, than any other country in the world, 714 in 100,000 people, or about 3. Eastern, Prison Policy Initiative will host an Instagram Live conversation about the brand new report, Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2025. Understanding the reasons and then forging a path to reduce mass incarceration in America will require better research and analyses of Mar 10, 2025 · The Understanding and Responding to Mass Incarceration conference will amplify the voices of those whose lives and communities have been disrupted by wrongful conviction and incarceration. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences and Professor of Economics at Brown University. , too). 6, 7 Home to the most prisoners in the world, the US also claims the highest incarceration rate in the world. Abstract . 1 Still, the 1. 58 THEMIS racial disparities. Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Virginia. . If you care about criminal justice reform, the technical nature of sentencing makes it hard to understand the laws that determine the length of someone’s prison term — and even harder to understand how those laws might be creating unjust outcomes. But how can that be accomplished? Who belongs in prison and who doesn’t? Dec 9, 2016 · Preface by Inimai Chettiar. March 14, 2025 (Pi Day): On Friday, March 14th at 1 p. Abstract Mass incarceration, among Western countries a uniquely American phenomenon, resulted from a transformation of American criminal justice systems. Barbara Pierce Bush Regents Professor of Liberal Arts in Sociology at the University of Texas–Austin. since the early 1970s, and its racial and ethnic disparities, offense types, and international comparison. The Institute to End Mass Incarceration is a research and advocacy program that works toward the dramatic decarceration of the United States, the eradication of the root causes of mass incarceration, and the promotion of new approaches to dealing with harm and safety in our communities. Jan 8, 2025 · Second Look Network. by Mike Wessler, September 11, 2024 Mar 2, 2025 · Mass incarceration refers to the large-scale imprisonment of individuals, particularly in the United States, due to tough sentencing laws, drug policies, and systemic inequalities. The objective of this research paper is to examine the Feb 5, 2021 · Mass incarceration is a uniquely American problem that impacts the human rights of American citizens, particularly those who come from communities of color. by Emily Widra and Kenneth Gilliam Tweet this July 2022 Press release. residents, compared to 214 per 100,000 for white adults. Apr 30, 2024 · The Peter Gruber Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic helped secure a sentence modification for Eriberto Deleon Jr. Jul 20, 2018 · Learn how the U. It begins by giving background information regarding the topic and setting the framework to argue that slavery was never abolished, but was instead continued using mass incarceration. Jan 30, 2025 · In President Trump’s first week, the new administration revoked Biden-era Department of Justice policies designed to mitigate harsh sentencing practices and racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Meet us. May 21, 2024 · The report examines the growth and impact of mass incarceration in the U. Mar 11, 2025 · This report offers some much-needed clarity by piecing together the data about this country’s disparate systems of confinement. I myself spent nearly thirty years cycling through the system. Jan 23, 2025 · Nearly a quarter of all people in U. Mar 8, 2025 · Mass incarceration is a massive issue tied to police reform, referring to the huge number of people locked up in prisons across the U. In every aspect of our work, we seek to help empower those directly impacted by mass incarceration to bring about its end—by developing and executing anti-carceral lawyering strategies, by training future lawyers, and by fostering new ideas and innovation. Oct 5, 2018 · What factors decide how long someone spends in prison? The answer is, it’s complicated. From resisting the growth of carceral infrastructure, to seeding collective interventions that target plea bargaining, to building up the power of juries, we make concrete steps forward against mass incarceration. Learn how the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and the War on Drugs have created a pipeline of oppression for people of color. Oct 1, 2016 · Despite the strong relationship between the rise in mass incarceration over the last forty years and racial inequality in employment and wages, few studies have examined the long-term consequences and spillover effects of criminal justice contact on the black-white wealth gap in the United States. by Emily Widra and Nick Encalada-Malinowski Tweet this June 2022 Press release. Introduction to the mass incarceration research guide May 15, 2017 · Bipartisan momentum for criminal justice reform has been building for years, and a new pro-active agenda by the Brennan Center offers solutions that would keep crime rates low, provide support for law enforcement, and reduce the federal prison population. Learn more about our coalition of legal professionals providing direct representation to incarcerated individuals seeking relief from lengthy or unfair sentences. 3 While no part of Connecticut is immune to the consequences of the state’s reliance on mass incarceration, some communities are Mar 7, 2025 · Second Look Network. Learn what mass incarceration means and how it affects millions of people and communities in the U. MASS INCARCERATION, MACROSOCIOLOGY, AND THE POOR 167 (Western and Wildeman 2009). Despite two decades of declining crime rates, the United States continues to incarcerate a historically and comparatively large segment of the population. incarceration since the start of the pandemic The report includes 31 visualizations of criminal justice data, exposing long-standing truths about mass incarceration in the U. More than 10,000 Connecticut residents are incarcerated, 2 leaving the state with an incarceration rate of 288 per 100,000 Connecticut residents. When I came closer, I saw the invitation clarified, “…in common sense” in smaller, italicized font, like it was Mar 14, 2022 · New report Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2022 provides the most comprehensive look at U. with the largest incarcerated population in the world. Oct 21, 2024 · Mass Incarceration and Prison Studies is part of the Global Issues Library, this curated database provides a study for students to investigate both crucial global trends in mass incarceration, and the detailed prison infrastructure of specific countries. The cluster operates from the frame that race and anti-Black racism are cornerstones to understanding the vast leviathan of punishment in America. Few claims have won such widespread acceptance in legal academia as the “mass incarceration” narrative: the idea that the rise in America’s prison population over the last half century was fueled largely by the needless and unjust imprisonment of millions of criminal offenders due to punitive changes in sentencing. Sep 17, 2018 · This paper aims to analyze the connections between slavery and mass incarceration. Oct 21, 2024 · A research guide on mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex. Jan 8, 2019 · Context. 11 In 2016, nearly two-thirds of imprisoned individuals had not completed high school, 17% had spent time in the foster care system, and 14% reported 56 facts about mass incarceration!e Prison Policy Initiative is a research and activist organization focused on issues related to mass incarceration. , and dispels some modern myths to focus attention on the real drivers of mass incarceration and overlooked issues that call for reform. The year 1865 should be as notable to criminologists as is the year 1970. This Report’s Purpose. Moreover, incarceration and other forms of criminal justice contact ranging from police stops These data also allow us to better understand how incarceration rates 2 correlate with other community problems related to poverty, employment, education, and health. Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post via Getty Images January 23, 2025 Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in New York. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the […] May 9, 2024 · The incarceration rate in the U. Despite making up close to 5% of the global population, the U. Jun 2, 2016 · Abstract. The second myth: Private prisons are the corrupt heart of mass incarceration. Feb 3, 2025 · Responding to Pope Francis’ call for the Jubilee Year, we can restore hope to the incarcerated by advocating for justice, mercy, and liberation. The US is home to less than 5% of the world’s population, but over 20% of the world’s prisoners 2 days ago · Maryland’s 18 ways to stop the mass incarceration of Black people. Jul 1, 2010 · Glenn C. Please note, only the Massachusetts Department of Correction and Essex County participate in the Massachusetts VINE program. It also provides data on probation and parole, and the decline and rise of prison population in recent years. 6 Some states have more people in private prisons than others, of course, and the industry has lobbied to maintain high levels Louisiana has the nation’s highest incarceration rate, and while historic reforms implemented as part of the 2017 Justice Reinvestment Package have begun to alleviate this crisis, more work must be done to reduce the state’s harmful reliance on incarceration. Dec 3, 2024 · An expert on the history of mass incarceration explains why the Black incarceration rate was lower in the South than in the North for much of the 20th century, why recent decades have witnessed rising… Associate Professor; PhD, Columbia University. prison population had declined 25% since reaching its peak in 2009. It argues that subtle, and not so subtle, shifts in policy and practice lead to changes in the way people approach crime prevention and control, and those shifts ultimately explain changing rates of incarceration. The second myth: Private prisons are the corrupt heart of mass incarceration In fact, less than 9% of all incarcerated people are held in private Research. This growth in the nation’s prison population was a deliberate policy. Samantha Pereira . by Emily Widra and Benjamin Geffen Tweet this September 2022 Press release. — Today, the Prison Policy Initiative released the 2025 edition of its flagship report, Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie. Feb 11, 2025 · How did the US become the world's leader in incarceration? This article series explores the origins of mass incarceration, the prison industrial complex, and the role of systemic racism and economic inequality. carceral state through an interdisciplinary lens. are directly impacted by mass incarceration. Ending mass incarceration requires taking a second look at extreme sentences. About The Stop Mass Incarceration Network. One of the most important criminal legal system disparities in Virginia has long been difficult to decipher: Which communities throughout the state do incarcerated people come from? Mass Incarceration Commitee National Lawyers Guild. The exhibits were both heartbreaking and profound, presenting the history of enslavement, segregation, and the ongoing fight for civil rights in a way that was deeply moving and immersive. Feb 8, 2023 · By year end 2021, the U. Using the new data tables to compare states Oct 14, 2021 · With almost 2 million people in confinement, the United States locks up more people per capita than any other nation. Where people in prison come from: The geography of mass incarceration in Pennsylvania. , and dispels some common myths about mass incarceration to focus attention on overlooked issues that urgently require reform. The offices of Maryland’s attorney general and public defender teamed up to release their first report on the issue. Jails, state prisons, federal prisons. An ad hoc panel will conduct a study and prepare a report that will focus on the scientific evidence that exists on the use of incarceration in the United States and will propose a research agenda on the use of incarceration and alternatives to incarceration for the future. In this paper, we investigate the mechanisms whereby the local and distal incarceration of a Sep 14, 2015 · American politicians are now eager to disown a failed criminal-justice system that’s left the U. In addition to the 2 million people incarcerated today, 4. Her most recent book, Invisible Men: Mass Incarceration and the Myth of Black Progress (Russell Sage Foundation 2012), investigates how decades of growth in America's prisons and jails obscures basic accounts of racial inequality. But they’ve failed to reckon with history. 2 million people imprisoned in 2021 were nearly six times the prison population 50 years ago, before the prison population began its dramatic growth. It dispels myths, reveals overlooked systems of confinement, and offers necessary reforms to end mass incarceration. 9 million people confined in jails and prisons across the country, reform is both a moral imperative and a societal necessity. Mar 19, 2025 · Incarcerated people come from all over Louisiana — but disproportionately from some places more than others. While it marked the end of the Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment, it also triggered the nation’s first prison boom when state governments arrested and incarcerated increasing numbers of Black Americans. By looking at these factors, one can see how to effectively address the social issue that is mass incarceration. Mar 14, 2024 · A comprehensive report that pieces together the data about the U. It is no surprise that the United States has a major issue with the incarceration of its people. The Stop Mass Incarceration Network (SMIN) exists to stop the slow genocide of mass incarceration and all its consequences; racial profiling, a legal system that disproportionately impacts Blacks and Latinos, the police murder of our children, the criminalization of a generation, discrimination, widespread torture in prisons and treating those Mar 24, 2020 · Slideshow 3. Mass Incarceration Committee Chart showing how many people in the U. It had his name above the words “Join the Revolution!” in loud font. 3 million people at the end of 2018). incarceration rate has been near the top among all countries worldwide. In fact, the U. 9 million are formerly imprisoned, 19 million have been convicted of a felony, 79 million have a criminal record, and 113 million adults have an immediate family member who has ever been to prison or jail. The United States contains only 5% of the world’s population but accounts for a quarter of prisoners worldwide (approximately 2. is the world's highest, with mass incarceration statistics revealing that nearly 1% of the adult population is behind bars. Mass incarceration is a term that refers to the sharp increase in the American imprisoned population towards the end of the 20 th century (Alexander, Citation 2010; Western, Citation 2006). It provides a detailed look at where and why people are locked up in the U. Through litigation, advocacy, and public awareness, the ACLU of Louisiana works to combat mass incarceration, advance Apr 17, 2024 · The year 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of mass incarceration in the United States. Or, access the full 50-state dataset (xlsx). Jan 12, 2025 · History of mass incarceration. 1 in 5 prisoners in the U. The report offers the most comprehensive view of the nearly 2 million people incarcerated in the U. Apr 25, 2019 · For all the talk of curbing America’s appetite for mass incarceration and bipartisan support for reducing prison sentences, the number of people incarcerated in the United States declined only Feb 21, 2019 · The fiscal consequences of mass incarceration are immense. May 16, 2019 · The American public has decisively concluded that our approach to criminal justice isn’t working. has more than 20% of the world’s prison population. He is coeditor of Ethnicity, Social Mobility, and Public Policy: Comparing the us and uk (with Tariq Modood and Steven Teles, 2005) and author of The Anatomy of Racial Inequality (2002) and One by One, From the Inside Out: Essays The school-to-prison pipeline is a term describing how children and youth of color are rerouted and funneled away from educational success toward the criminal justice system when they are overpoliced and punished in schools. For six decades, the U. Mar 19, 2025 · Incarcerated people come from all over Connecticut — but disproportionately from some places more than others. The Foundation’s research has shown the ecosystem of mass incarceration to be an intentionally well-hidden system of oppression that needs to be exposed to the public, especially community, criminal justice, corporate, faith, educational, not-for-profit Sep 27, 2023 · Find out more about the mass incarceration crisis in your state (we have a page for D. ¹ Keeping so many people imprisoned Statistics show mass incarceration is on the rise: Approximately two million people are incarcerated today, compared to roughly 500,000 in 1980. prisons are 50 or older, like these inmates at FMC Devens in Massachusetts in 2015. The conference will be held on April 11, 2025 at Metro State University. 8 There are more Americans in prison today than at any other time in US history, even though US crime rates Oct 29, 2018 · Becky Pettit. Mass incarceration remains one of the most pressing social justice issues in the United States, affecting millions of lives and straining communities. S. Oct 13, 2021 · Second Look Network. This essay focuses in greater detail on sources of the massive increase in US prison admissions in the late 20th century. After the death of Michael Brown, the Foundation spent a significant amount of time researching the system of mass incarceration. kfge xhygo lrkdq iec zhwl wwkm uwkjp wesajn jipbj fqzwwq gekpxu agcbvb hmyml kyewii mrktfdqd