In the US, nearly 2 million people are incarcerated on any given day. Prisons and jails employ hundreds of thousands of corrections officers and cost significant taxpayer dollars.

But despite their scale and impact, prisons and jails are uniquely closed environments and among the least transparent and most understudied public institutions.

To bridge this gap in knowledge, the Urban Institute is building the evidence needed to make prisons and jails safer environments for incarcerated people and corrections staff alike. As a leader in the field, Urban is a trusted source of evidence for corrections leaders, service providers, and advocates and works to inform the national conversation on prison and jail reform.

This site collects our work, offering insights that policymakers, corrections professionals, advocates, and others can use to promote, implement, and evaluate innovative prison and jail reforms. 

Highlights include the following:

• one of the few multistate datasets on the perceptions of incarcerated people and corrections staff, generated by our local research partners in five states
• insights from the first participatory research initiative across five state prisons
• strategies to help practitioners and policymakers address contraband, such as cell phones, in correctional facilities
• a comprehensive, national prison reform agenda

The Urban Institute is a nonprofit research organization founded on one simple idea: To improve lives and strengthen communities, we need practices and policies that work. For more than 50 years, that has been our charge. By equipping changemakers with evidence and solutions, together we can create a future where every person and community has the opportunity and power to thrive.

This site was funded by Arnold Ventures. We are grateful to them and to all our funders, who make it possible for Urban to advance its mission. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of Urban experts. Further information on the Urban Institute’s funding principles is available at urban.org/fundingprinciples.