Issues

One in five Black men born in 2001 is likely to experience imprisonment within their lifetime, a decline from one in three for those born in 1981. But pushback from policymakers threatens further advancement.

Get the facts on racial disparities in the criminal legal system in our report, “One in Five: Ending Racial Inequity in Incarceration.”

The First Step Act is the result of many years of advocacy, negotiations, and compromise from a broad constituency of supporters that stretched from the White House to the prison corridors. As the name defines, it was intended as a first step toward unwinding the harms of mass incarceration at the federal level.

Restoring voting rights for people with felony convictions can improve community safety. Our new report, Increasing Public Safety by Restoring Voting Rights, finds that having the right to vote or the act of voting is related to reduced recidivism for Americans who have been involved with the criminal legal system.

Over the course of the 21st century, locking up fewer kids hasn’t resulted in more crime; it’s been followed by less crime.