Effective crime-prevention strategies focus on targeted interventions and investments in communities — and they are rarely controversial. Here are past successes that should be embraced: bit.ly/4neYVD1

The vast range of prison rules makes it nearly impossible to avoid infractions – and the punishments are horrific Should people really face solitary confinement–a form of torture–for receiving a minor violation behind bars? www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/disc...

Self-serving politicians may want you to believe that violent crime is rampant and repeat offenders are to blame – but two things to remember: 1. Overall crime rates are at historically low levels 2. 74% of all jail bookings are for charges that are not "violent"

Confined neurodivergent youth of color experience a distressing 120% higher odds of reporting being assaulted by staff than their white, neurotypical peers. This is not a system made to keep anyone–let alone vulnerable children–safe.

More than 1 in 5 people are jailed multiple times a year There is no "safe" way to jail a person – even a single day in jail has devastating effects. And people who are jailed multiple times a year inevitably face exacerbated consequences of incarceration:

Nearly 7 out of every 10 adults in state prison were first arrested before the age of 19. Increased criminalization of youth serves as a bad omen for a wave of adult criminalization in the not-so-distant future.

The use of solitary confinement in the U.S. is becoming more widespread across state prisons, jails, and ICE detention centers. It's cruel and unusual punishment – and it's unjustifiable.

Shelby County's jail "does not have a problem with its 'brand.' It has a problem keeping people alive." From serious staffing issues to swollen booking times, it's clear Shelby County cannot manage its current jail. A new, bigger one will not solve that. dailymemphian.com/section/opin...

🚨TODAY: We're partnering with @justjournalism.bsky.social on a webinar to help advocates looking to take the "lede" in the criminal legal system. Sign up now 👇 us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Incarcerated people have more chronic medical conditions than ever Yet healthcare behind bars is blocked by expensive copays, limited resources, & understaffing – creating a situation in which each year spent in prison takes *2 years* off an individual’s life expectancy

"The state is just capitalizing on people who can’t really do anything about it." Time and time again, prisons & telecom companies have shown that they can get away with exploiting incarcerated people and their loved ones. oklahomawatch.org/2025/09/12/w...

The federal gov't controls only a small portion of U.S. imprisonment. But the Trump WH is using funding & influence to pressure states & cities to expand & intensify criminal legal systems, by dismantling due process, increasing harsh sentences, & worsening prison conditions. From @prisonpolicy.org:

A reminder as the National Guard is weaponized against more cities: Policing & crime do not go hand in hand. Incarceration rates in every single U.S. state are out of line with the entire world, and this disparity is not explainable by differences in crime or “violent crime.”

Black people disproportionately experience police misconduct – including slurs, bias, and sexual harassment – during encounters with police Is this really what it means for police to serve & protect?

Across the country, most kids are returning to the classroom — yet over 30,000 are held under lock and key in the juvenile “justice” system. www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/yout...

The system is armed with media teams – for small orgs fighting for change, that can make it hard to get coverage We're partnering with @justjournalism.bsky.social to change that. This webinar will help advocates looking to take the "lede" in the criminal legal system us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

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 incarceration of people who are mostly accused of no more serious offense than crossing the border without permission

The average income of someone in jail pretrial is <$20,000, making it almost impossible to afford cash bail. Pretrial detention doesn’t just throw someone’s life into chaos — it makes it more likely that they will plead guilty just to get out of jail. www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/inco...

Confined neurodivergent youth of color experience a distressing 120% higher odds of reporting being assaulted by staff than their white, neurotypical peers. This is not a system made to keep anyone–let alone vulnerable children–safe.

Reminder: Crime in the U.S. is at its lowest since 1961.

"We don’t want this mega prison in this state. We don’t need this mega prison in this state.” New must-read from @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/arkansas-pri...

“ICE can’t do what they need to do under the current circumstances without sheriffs and our jails.” 🎯 Your locally elected sheriffs play an essential role in ICE’s mass incarceration & deportation agenda – and probably make money off of it.

URGENT! With the FCC poised to further delay or reverse caps on phone call rates for prisons and jails we need you to speak out! Tell the FCC to #stopthedelay connectfamiliesnow.com/stopthedelay @famm.org @colorofchange.bsky.social @antirecidivism.bsky.social

People in a New York prison’s mental health unit are kept in their cells 24 hours a day, with the exception of an occasional “callout,” and denied therapeutic services, according to a lawsuit filed this week.

Prisons cannot hold up against sweltering heat – most of these facilities lack AC & are basically concrete coffins that will only become more inhospitable for people who are locked up.

Poor people in the United States are a primary target for policing, especially those forced to live on the streets. Data shows that more than 40% of unhoused people booked into jail were booked again within the year.

Flooding the subway with cops and cameras and sweeping vulnerable New Yorkers out of public sight is not safety -- it is over-policing, surveillance and stigma. True safety means housing, care and dignity.

Incarceration is not only difficult for someone who comes in with mental health needs, but it creates & exacerbates disconnection, despair, and overall psychological distress. Prison is basically a mental health crisis in and of itself. #WorldSuicidePreventionDay

From increased ICE raids to escalating deportations, the US is experiencing a crimmigration crisis. We aren't experts on the subject, but we can point you in the right direction. Here's a resource roundup on the criminalization of immigrants: www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2025/04...

The Attica prison uprising began on September 9, 1971, before being brutally shut down. Incarcerated people released a list of demands ranging from pay raises to parole reform to better food – demands that people in prison are still fighting for over fifty years later. 🧵

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 incarceration of people who are mostly accused of no more serious offense than crossing the border without permission

📚Back-to-school season is in full swing. Unfortunately, researching and learning about the criminal legal system & mass incarceration is not easy. So we decided to gather resources to make the data more accessible for students & teachers👇 www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2024/09...

DHS announced that it will financially reward local law enforcement agencies that carry out its anti-immigrant agenda, effectively creating an incentive system in which the more people wanted by ICE that an agency abducts, the more money it stands to make. truthout.org/articles/tru...

400 confined children in the U.S. are no more than 12 years old. Kids need care, not cages. www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/yout...

The vast majority of people held in jail are legally innocent. Many of them are there simply because they are too poor to make bail. Does that look like a system built on justice?

Self-serving politicians may want you to believe that violent crime is rampant and repeat offenders are to blame – but two things to remember: 1. Overall crime rates are at historically low levels 2. 74% of all jail bookings are for charges that are not "violent"

56% of people in state prisons have a mental health problem, yet only 26% have received professional help since entering Prisons & jails are not made to accommodate serious mental health needs, yet law enforcement & courts continue to respond to mental illness like it’s a crime

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. The carceral system is a deadly place, and it's only gotten worse in recent decades. Prison is a mental health crisis in and of itself, and too many incarcerated people contemplate and/or die by suicide – even after release.

Reminder that the criminal legal system targets and punishes people in debt & experiencing poverty. And too often, debt and poverty are outcomes of system involvement. A far cry from a system set up to give people a "second chance."

In a desperate attempt to recruit ICE agents, DHS is offering massive signing bonuses, lowering age requirements, and shortening training periods. We've seen these exact recruitment strategies play out in U.S. prisons & jails – and they always fail 🧵

The U.S. confines youth at a rate that’s more than 2x the global average – and well above that of all other NATO member countries. Kids need care, not cages. Learn more from our new report 👇

Compared to the general population, unhoused people are held in jail for 3.5x as long, despite typically being charged with the lowest level crimes It’s safe to assume that unaffordable cash bail is to blame. No one should have to stay behind bars because they can't afford bail

Sanctuary cities, counties, and states are not immune from ICE's arrest & deportation agenda – but these policies DO make a difference in limiting the criminalization of immigration:

"Our existing system subjects hundreds of thousands of legally innocent people per year to the horrors of incarceration" @bailproject.org on the importance (and effectiveness!) of ending cash bail for @nytopinion.nytimes.com👇

Nearly 7 out of every 10 adults in state prison were first arrested before the age of 19. Increased criminalization of youth serves as a bad omen for a wave of adult criminalization in the not-so-distant future.

very excited to be partnering with Prison Policy Initiative for this -- please join/share with colleagues and comrades who might be interested in learning more about shaping news coverage of the criminal legal system!

A new study says the problems at the Shelby County Jail are less about the building and more about facility management.

Nearly 40% of incarcerated workers are paid *nothing* for their work. And the rest are paid at abysmally low wages. This is not a system built on "justice" for all.

The biggest beneficiary of prison labor isn't a private company – it's the prisons themselves.

An important reminder this Labor Day: Mass incarceration is an economic issue. Don't let the system fool you – the fight for a fair economy and the movement against prisons are one and the same.