Left column below = Government-produced sources + HeinOnline databases that include selected U.S. government publications.
Right column below = Many additional sources + starting points for: Researching Health Issues in Carceral Facilities
Please also view sources described in: Organizations, Partnerships & Toolkits.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) states it is "the primary statistical agency of the [U.S.] Department of Justice." BJS also funds third-party research/reports.
Annual Reports:
Additional Recent Reports & Data:
The Congressional Research Service is a collection of research "produced by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) for the United States Congress. By law, CRS works exclusively for Congress, providing timely, objective, and authoritative research and analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of political party affiliation." Use the keyword search feature to find material about your topic. Alternatively, to view a full list of CRS material, leave the search bar empty and click: Search. The filters on the left side of the page can be used to narrow down the results.
CRS indexes thousands of reports. Below are some recent examples:
National Criminal Justice Reference Service is "a [U.S.] federally funded resource offering justice and drug-related information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide."
The New York City Board of Correction is "a non-judicial oversight board that regulates, monitors, and inspects the correctional facilities of the City."
Additional HeinOnline Collection Providing Selected U.S. Congressional Hearings & U.S. Government Publications:
ACLU is a "non-profit and non-partisan" organization. ACLU's lawyers (and other attorneys who assist them) "handle thousands of cases each year on behalf of clients whose rights have been violated." ACLU provides issue-focused pages of resources on: Capital Punishment; Criminal Law Reform; Juvenile Justice; Racial Justice; Prisoners' Rights; and Smart Justice (publicly accessible). Issue-focused pages include information about court cases and links to selected case documents.
Recent Reports:
The Brennan Center for Justice is "a nonpartisan law and policy institute."
Recent Explainers & Analysis:
Center for Justice at Columbia University is "committed to ending mass incarceration and criminalization, and advancing alternative approaches to justice and safety through education, research, and policy change."
Equal Justice Initiative is a private, nonprofit organization that "provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons."
This is a joint project of Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School & Michigan State University College of Law. This Registry "provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989" and a smaller database of known exonerations before 1989,
Perilous Chronicle is "an independent digital research and media project focusing on prisons, protest, unrest and repression in the U.S. and Canada." It "is run by a closed collective of volunteer journalists and researchers throughout the U.S. and Canada." The members of the Perilous Editorial Collective are not listed on this project's website.
Prison Policy Initiative is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that "produces cutting edge research to expose the broader harm of mass criminalization, and then sparks advocacy campaigns to create a more just society."
Recent Reports:
The Sentencing Project is a non-profit organization that "advocates for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice."
Recent Publications:
Vera Institute of Justice is "a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change."
Johns Hopkins Alliance for a Healthier World, COVID-19 Health Justice Policy Tracker
See also Health Affairs journal, Health & Justice open-access special issue: Enhancing the Prison Environment, PubMed Central open-access repository and PsycNET index (described on the Journals & Sources of Articles guide page).
Book: The Incarceration of Native American Women: Creating Pathways to Wellness and Recovery Through Gentle Action Theory:
Books Discussing Broader Health Issues: