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Prison Policy Initiative Profile picture
@PrisonPolicy
Jun 5 • 8 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
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🚨NEW: Prison transfers are common, but that doesn't mean they're easy for incarcerated people and their loved ones.

We examined transfer records & interviews with dozens of formerly incarcerated New Yorkers to find out how transfers upend people's lives 🧵
"The worst experience of my life."

Transfers require people to pack their belongings, undergo invasive strip searches, and take long trips while restrictively shackled.

These moves affect every aspect of life behind bars, from peer networks to familiarity with officers.
These transfers happen A LOT. Half of New York's prisons transfer out at least 60% of their population each year.

This turnover makes everyday life in prisons unstable & uncertain – while also severing friendships behind bars that are important to survival. Graph showing that half of New York prisons transfer out 60% or more of their population each year
In New York, incarcerated people *can* request a transfer, but an overwhelming number of the transfers we examined were involuntary.

When done for punitive reasons, transfers can worsen mental health & misconduct issues – while also stripping incarcerated people of their agency. Graph showing that in 2022, 92% of NY prison transfers were for administrative, disciplinary, or other reasons. Only 8% were done by request.
Importantly, most of the transfers initiated by the prison system took people *farther* away from their home communities.

Being close to loved ones is pivotal in visitation and surviving prison life 👇
prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/12/2…Screenshot of chart showing that NY prison transfers initiated by the prison system took people an average of 29 miles farther away from their home communities.
The first few weeks in a new prison are also especially difficult – and even dangerous.

Recently transferred people need to restock possessions lost during transfers, which is expensive. They also have to learn the rules (both formal and informal) of their new facility.
David, a participant in our analysis, reflected on being transferred 6 times in 25 years:

"That’s kind of what these transfers do: they disrupt your life. What little life that we had in there, they just broke it up." Screenshot of quote with text: "It was hard. Don't get me wrong, I was furious because my whole life was planned out and everything was just taken away. And that's kind of what these transfers do: they disrupt your life. What little life that we had in there, they just broke it up. So, when you have a plan, and you want to get these programs... they take it all away and you got to start all over."
Rather than continuously shuffling incarcerated people, transfers should be used to prioritize stability & autonomy – especially if they have no disciplinary issues & are succeeding in their programs, jobs, and relationships.

Learn more 👇
prisonpolicy.org/blog/2025/06/0…

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More from @PrisonPolicy

Prison Policy Initiative Profile picture
May 30
Incarcerated people have to "douse themselves with toilet water" to cool off from sweltering heat, and Texas still refuses to provide air conditioning in prisons.

This is a form of torture.
newsfromthestates.com/article/bill-a…
Texas would rather FALSIFY DATA than install air conditioning in prisons, all while temps routinely exceed 100° and put people in dire situations:
texastribune.org/2025/03/21/tex…
And keep in mind that without A/C, there is no relief from extreme heat for people behind bars.

Take a look at the commissary at one TX federal prison that charges $30 for personal fans, profiting off incarcerated people's misery: Screenshot of a document that outlines how much items cost at a commissary in a Texas federal prison. A fan cost $30.70 - more than a week's worth of wages.
Read 4 tweets
Prison Policy Initiative Profile picture
May 20
🚨NEW: The prison health care system is broken beyond repair. One of the most sinister features is copays – fees that often cost an entire week's pay for incarcerated people

Facilities claim copay "waivers" help, but the reality is they're not enough 🧵

prisonpolicy.org/blog/2025/05/1…U.S. map showing that in more than one-third of prison systems, the fee for a single medical visit is more than incarcerated people earn in a week. Learn more here: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2025/05/15/copay_waivers/
Almost all state prison systems charging copays have exemptions for some services, but they're so limited, ill-defined, and inconsistent that they fail to make the copay system less harmful.

Take a look at how rare waivers are, even for the most basic types of care: Graph showing that copay exemptions are surprisingly rare for some of the most basic types of medical care: Among 40 prison systems charging copays, 1 offers exemptions for menstruation-related healthcare/products, 9 for substance use disorders, 13 for vaccinations, 18 for infirmary/hospitalization, and 18 for pregnancy-related healthcare.
In most states, incarcerated people must pay a fee if they request medical care, but are exempt if it's requested by healthcare staff or correctional staff

This undermines patient privacy and autonomy – another thorn in the cut-rate care system:
prisonpolicy.org/reports/health…
Read 6 tweets
Prison Policy Initiative Profile picture
May 5
This Correctional Officers Week is a good time to examine the "staffing crisis" across the US

Prisons & jails are complaining that they can't hire & retain enough staff – why?

The simplest, most obvious answer: There are way too many people locked up🧵
prisonpolicy.org/blog/2024/12/0…
But that's not all.

People have always quit correctional jobs at high rates. Working in a prison or jail is harmful to mental health. It means being surrounded by trauma & suffering.

(Much of the violence behind bars is perpetrated by COs themselves)

prisonpolicy.org/blog/2022/05/0…Graph showing that correctional officers reported that in the month prior 28% felt depressed or hopeless, 48% felt anxious, nervous, or on edge, 34% experienced repeated, disturbing memories, and 11% had suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide
People don't want to work in these deteriorating conditions – and prisons & jails cannot recruit their way around it

Look at wages. The median corrections wage is higher than some of the most demanding jobs in the US, despite not even being a top 10 most dangerous job Graph showing that the median annual wage in 2023 for corrections workers was higher than loggers, roofers, construction workers, and delivery drivers, despite being less fatal.
Read 6 tweets
Prison Policy Initiative Profile picture
May 3
The carceral system is inundated with crises – that's why investigative journalism is more important than ever

On #WorldPressFreedomDay, here are 10 stories from 2024 that newsrooms can emulate to shine a light inside the black box of mass incarceration🧵
prisonpolicy.org/blog/2024/12/1…
@IvanaSuzette & @JohnArchibald took a deep dive into Alabama's parole system, which is granting release to fewer people each year

Their series exposes a system that keeps the elderly locked up for decades & demonizes people with minor convictions
al.com/denied/Graph titled: Alamaba Parole Grant Rate 2015-2023
@IvanaSuzette @JohnArchibald @Venuris investigated how one jail delivers medications: by waking up patients in the middle of the night & giving them crushed-up tablets, which is far from the standard treatment recommended by clinicians

publicsource.org/allegheny-coun…
Read 15 tweets
Prison Policy Initiative Profile picture
Apr 9
While we're talking about #FreshOutTheSlammer... April is actually Second Chance Month.

Let's talk about what challenges & obstacles formerly incarcerated people face upon release as they work to rebuild their lives, families, and careers 🧵
600,000 people are released from state and federal prisons each year in the US, and carrying a conviction history comes with huge obstacles.
For starters, people on probation face an average of 12 requirements that they must comply with every single day or face re-arrest.

These requirements, or "standard conditions," can limit where you can go & sometimes include vague language like "be good"
prisonpolicy.org/reports/probat…Graph titled: Almost all jurisdictions restrict the movement of people on probation
Graph titled: Vague language in standard conditions gives probation officers excessive discretionary power
Read 8 tweets
Prison Policy Initiative Profile picture
Apr 1
It's April Fools' Day, but prisons and jails are no joke.

So we've pulled together 7 alarming facts about mass incarceration that may sound like hoaxes, but sadly are not 🧵
prisonpolicy.org/blog/2025/04/0…
1. Each year, prisons & jails take millions from incarcerated people & their families through "inmate welfare funds"

This money is supposed to benefit incarcerated people but is often abused. One jail even used it to pay for staff gun range memberships.

prisonpolicy.org/reports/shadow…Chart showing how a jail in Dauphin County, PA., spent its Inmate Welfare Fund from 2019 to 2023
2. One-third of state & federal prisons sit within 3 miles of federal Superfund sites – the most TOXIC places in the country

This proximity is linked to lower life expectancy and terrible illnesses, but incarcerated people don't have a choice

prisonpolicy.org/blog/2022/04/2…
Read 9 tweets

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