War on Some Drugs

U.S. Incarceration Trends 1970 to 2014

Brian K. Noe · October 26, 2017 ·

The Vera Institute of Peace has created a tool for examining and comparing incarceration data across the United States by county.

You may have already seen our data tool—Incarceration Trends—on jail and prison populations in every U.S. county. Right now, we’re expanding our efforts to make sure that everyone knows how many people are incarcerated in their backyards, so they can power the fight against mass incarceration.

They’re encouraging everyone to share this on Facebook.

I’m still learning my way around the tool, but the information about Kankakee County that I’ve been able to digest is troubling.

We Have A Nice Cell Waiting For You

Brian K. Noe · February 13, 2015 ·

If you are poor, ill or addicted, don’t worry. We can warehouse you almost indefinitely and you’ll never have to worry.

From a new report by the Vera Institute of Justice:

“Local jails, which exist in nearly every town and city in America, are built to hold people deemed too dangerous to release pending trial or at high risk of flight. This, however, is no longer primarily what jails do or whom they hold, as people too poor to post bail languish there and racial disparities disproportionately impact communities of color. This report reviews existing research and data to take a deeper look at our nation’s misuse of local jails and to determine how we arrived at this point.”