Prison Policy Initiative
Encyclopedia
The Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) is a criminal justice
oriented public policy think tank
based in Easthampton, Massachusetts
. It is a non-profit organization
, designated 501(c)(3) by the IRS
. It is the "leading public critic" of the United States Census Bureau
's practice of counting prisoners as residents of the towns where they are incarcerated, and has conducted research in several states proving that this practice results in distortion of equal representation.
The Prison Policy Initiative's publications include "Importing Constituents: Prisoners and Political Clout in New York," "Why the Census Bureau can and must start collecting the home addresses of incarcerated people," and "Phantom constituents in the Empire State: How outdated Census Bureau methodology burdens New York counties." It has also published the Democracy Toolkit http://www.prisonersofthecensus.org/toolkit, an internet tool designed for rural democracy activists, allowing them to use PPI's research procedures to study their own communities.
have now recommended that the Bureau begin to collect prisoners' home address information, and the New York Times editorial board has repeatedly supported PPI's calls for reform. Once an unknown issue, the problem of prisoner miscount has now been identified as "the most controversial issue for the 2010 census."
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
oriented public policy think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
based in Easthampton, Massachusetts
Easthampton, Massachusetts
Easthampton is the second largest city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is on the southeastern edge of an area called the Pioneer Valley near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst, MA...
. It is a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, designated 501(c)(3) by the IRS
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
. It is the "leading public critic" of the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
's practice of counting prisoners as residents of the towns where they are incarcerated, and has conducted research in several states proving that this practice results in distortion of equal representation.
The Prison Policy Initiative's publications include "Importing Constituents: Prisoners and Political Clout in New York," "Why the Census Bureau can and must start collecting the home addresses of incarcerated people," and "Phantom constituents in the Empire State: How outdated Census Bureau methodology burdens New York counties." It has also published the Democracy Toolkit http://www.prisonersofthecensus.org/toolkit, an internet tool designed for rural democracy activists, allowing them to use PPI's research procedures to study their own communities.
Census work
PPI published the first empirical, district-by-district analysis of the effects of Census Bureau methodology which counts prisoners as residents of towns containing prisons, not their pre-incarceration addresses, and has since been the leading critic of the practice (which it calls "prisoner miscount") and the distortion of equal representation it causes. Executive director Peter Wagner has testified on the issue before the National Academies and the New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Apportionment. The Census Bureau's scientific advisors at the United States National Research CouncilUnited States National Research Council
The National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academies, carrying out most of the studies done in their names.The National Academies include:* National Academy of Sciences...
have now recommended that the Bureau begin to collect prisoners' home address information, and the New York Times editorial board has repeatedly supported PPI's calls for reform. Once an unknown issue, the problem of prisoner miscount has now been identified as "the most controversial issue for the 2010 census."