Prisonism Research Institute

About the Institute

Much of what happens within correctional institutions remains outside public view. Important information may be scattered among government reports, court records, audits, contracts, public-record responses, academic studies, and news investigations. Other information may be incomplete, difficult to access, or unavailable altogether.

The Prisonism Research Institute brings these records together and translates them into organized, understandable public research. PRI examines correctional institutions as interconnected systems—studying not only the treatment of incarcerated people, but also workforce conditions, institutional culture, public spending, healthcare, safety, oversight, transparency, and the effects these systems have on families and communities.

PRI does not begin with a predetermined conclusion. Its role is to establish what the available evidence shows, identify what remains unknown, and determine what additional documentation is needed. Through this work, the Institute seeks to strengthen public understanding, institutional accountability, correctional safety, and evidence-based reform.

PRI is a research division of the End Prisonism Organization. It advances EPO’s mission by producing independent research, public databases, policy analysis, and accessible educational materials concerning correctional systems.

Why This Research Is Necessary

Correctional institutions exercise extraordinary authority while operating with limited public visibility. Citizens are frequently asked to form opinions about prisons without access to complete information about deaths, staffing, healthcare, violence, spending, oversight, or daily institutional conditions.

PRI was created to reduce this information gap. The Institute collects and evaluates records from multiple sources, identifies inconsistencies and missing information, and presents its findings in language the public can understand. The goal is not simply to expose failures. It is to help develop safer, more professional, more transparent, and more accountable correctional institutions.

Make Conditions Visible	Bring scattered and difficult-to-access correctional information into public view.
Strengthen Accountability	Compare institutional claims with records, outcomes, audits, court findings, and other available evidence.
Support Better Decisions	Give citizens, policymakers, journalists, correctional professionals, researchers, and families information they can use.

 

Explore Our Research

Access PRI's principal databases, investigations, publications, and research standards.

State Corrections Database

State-by-state examinations of correctional agencies, facilities, deaths, staffing, spending, safety, healthcare, oversight, and transparency.

Explore State Profiles

Deaths in Custody

Documentation and analysis of reported deaths, causes and manners of death, demographic patterns, missing records, conflicting information, and cases requiring additional review.

Examine Deaths-in-Custody Research

Correctional Workforce

Research concerning vacancies, turnover, mandatory overtime, staff assaults, working conditions, training, occupational trauma, institutional culture, and employee safety.

Explore Workforce Research

Public Records and Transparency

A record of information requested from correctional agencies, including agency responses, delays, denials, fees, incomplete disclosures, and unresolved information gaps.

View the Records Tracker

Reports and Publications

Complete research reports, policy briefs, fact sheets, data summaries, institutional profiles, and public-education materials produced by PRI.

Read PRI Publications

Research Methodology

An explanation of how PRI evaluates sources, classifies evidence, identifies records requiring additional review, measures transparency, assigns grades, and corrects published information.

Review Our Methodology