Prison Policy Initiative
national · founded 2001 · HQ United States
US non-profit producing research that exposes the harm of mass criminalization.
Founded in 2001, PPI is best known for its annual 'Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie' analysis, which counts every person locked up across federal prisons, state prisons, local jails, juvenile facilities, immigration detention, and other systems. PPI's reports underpin much of the US decarceration movement.
Focus areas
Reports published by PPI
PPI's annual single-snapshot analysis of the US carceral system: 1.9 million people behind bars across federal prisons, state prisons, local jails, immigration detention, juvenile facilities, and military / territorial prisons. Counters the common claim that 'most prisoners are non-violent drug offenders' by breaking down offense categories, and exposes the churn of pre-trial detention in local jails.