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David Pitts

@davidpitts.bsky.social
1.6K followers 607 following 101 posts

VP Justice & Safety, Urban Institute. Research on prisons, jails, and systems change. Alum of Georgia, Indiana, and UC Irvine. Adjunct Faculty, CUNY. Alabama native. 🏳️‍🌈 #criminaljustice #criminology #corrections #prisonreform #crimsky

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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
After six years of work across five state DOCs, @urbaninstitute.bsky.social and partners share key findings from the Prison Research and Innovation Initiative (PRII), a study of how community-engaged methods can improve prison operations and culture. 🧵
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The Marshall Project @themarshallproject.org · 10/06/2025
Watch our staff writer @shannonheffernan.bsky.social on MSNBC’s 11th Hour explain how for-profit detention facilities are cashing in on Trump’s mass deportation plans:
msnbc.com
Spotlight: How the government uses private companies to house immigration detainees
As the Trump administration ramps up deportations, the facilities that ICE uses to detain people are reaching their max capacity. Plus how did private for-profit prisons become such a big part of ICE ...
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ACLU @aclu.org · 05/06/2025
New research by @fwd.us found that people with an immediate family member in prison spend over $4,000 every year on their loved one who is incarcerated. Our families deserve better.
npr.org
The true cost of prisons and jails is higher than many realize, researchers say
A new report tries to capture the true cost of incarceration to families of people behind bars. It found it costs them around $350 billion every year — almost four times the government's estimate for ...
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
“According to an internal memo from the BOP, Joshua Smith was named Deputy Director at the BOP. Smith’s first experience with federal prison was not running one but being incarcerated in one.”
forbes.com
Meet Joshua Smith, New Deputy Director Of Bureau Of Prisons
Josh Smith’s first experience with federal prison was not running a prison, but being incarcerated in one. Now he's slated to become the Deputy Director of BOP.
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Jeffrey Ian Ross @jeffreyianross.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
My latest blog post, "Why I Use the Word 'Corrections' (Even Though It Makes Me Uneasy)" jeffreyianross.com/why-i-use-th... #corrections #criminology #criminaljustice #incarceration #prisons #jails #probation #parole
jeffreyianross.com
Why I Use the Word “Corrections” (Even Though It Makes Me Uneasy)
Although corrections is one of my primary scholarly research areas, I’ve never been entirely comfortable with the term. And yet, I still use it. So, what do most scholars, practitioners, and journalis...
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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
A paper I always teach my students: An empirical sound model that indicates harsher conditions either have no effect on crime or, quite possibly, make things worse. Harshness is not about safety. It's about cruelty. With the data to show it.
Do Harsher Prison Conditions Reduce Recidivism?
A Discontinuity-based Approach
M. Keith Chen∗
Yale School of Management and Cowles Foundation
Jesse M. Shapiro
University of Chicago and NBER
April 16, 2007
Abstract
We estimate the causal effect of prison conditions on recidivism rates by exploiting a disconti-
nuity in the assignment of federal prisoners to security levels. Inmates housed in higher security
levels are no less likely to recidivate than those housed in minimum security; if anything, our
estimates suggest that harsher prison conditions lead to more post-release crime. Though small
sample sizes limit the precision of our estimates, we argue that our findings may have important
implications for prison policy, and that our methodology is likely to be applicable beyond the
particular context we study.
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Jeffrey Butts @jeffreybutts.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
www.thetrace.org/2025/04/cdc-...
thetrace.org
CDC Teams That Study Gun Violence and Collect Data Are Decimated by Layoffs
The Trump’s administration’s cuts come after the field of gun violence research saw renewed federal support during the Biden era.
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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 02/04/2025
Have reforms really triggered a crime wave? How much of mass incarceration is a result of the war on drugs or the profit motives of private prisons? On International Fact-Checking Day, we're busting some of the biggest myths in the criminal legal system🧵 buff.ly/S8yZTrC
buff.ly
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2025
The big picture on how many people are locked up in the United States and why
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Walter @walterkatz.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
The “clearance rate” of reported crimes is a weak statistic that is concerned with one outcome: was an arrest made? That, by definition, includes both true & false positives. “Accurate investigations” as a desired outcome understands that a false positive is a grave error that should be prevented.
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Closing out an incredibly rewarding two-day symposium on prison research and innovation. Over 100 attendees joined us in person at the Urban Institute, including all of the individuals below who were part of our Prison Research and Innovation Initiative. 1/2 #corrections #criminaljustice #prison
Prison Research and Innovation Initiative participants on stage in front of the backdrop for the Symposium on Prison Research and Innovation at the Urban Institute.
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
“Most states spend less than $3 per person per day on prison food — and some as little as $1.02 — according to the analysis by Impact Justice. Even Maine, widely seen as a model for providing good quality food in its prisons, only spends $4.05 per person, per day.”
themarshallproject.org
Prison Food Is a Growing Billion-Dollar Industry. Many Meals Are Inedible.
As private food providers' contracts grow, the meager and moldy portions behind bars have forced some people to eat toothpaste and toilet paper.
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Amanda Fanniff, PhD @amandafanniff.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
@davidpitts.bsky.social We should ask people in prison what they think is helpful, don't assume #apls2025
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Ashley Batastini, PhD @drashleybatastini.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
I know it's Puerto Rico and I know it's Saturday morning, but do not miss the closing plenary with me and David Pitts of the Urban Institute. Even if corrections isn't your "thing," the core message (spoiler alert) is about collaboration. We'll meet you at 10:45 AM in San Juan 4-8. #AP-LS2025
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Urban Institute @urbaninstitute.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
US prisons are uniquely closed systems and often lack the data or research capacity required for much-needed evidence-based improvement. Join Urban on 3/20 & 3/21 for an in-person symposium on what research and data do in a #prison environment and how lessons learned can drive change. #LiveatUrban
urban.org
Symposium on Prison Research and Innovation: Lessons Learned and Future Directions
Join the Urban Institute for a two-day conversation on correctional policy and research.
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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 11/03/2025
🚨NEW: US prisons & jails are locking up MORE people after a decade of decline, growing the incarcerated population by 2% But why? We answer that & bust the biggest myths of the carceral system in 2025's edition of Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie👇 buff.ly/NDqIQ2i
prisonpolicy.org
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2025
The big picture on how many people are locked up in the United States and why
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Excited to be in San Juan for this year’s AP-LS conference, a first for me and a fantastic meeting so far. I’ll be talking about collaboration and translational research in corrections at Saturday’s plenary. Come by if you are attending! #corrections #criminaljustice
Cover of American Psychology-Law Society Annual Conference 2025, along with photo of colorful San Juan buildings
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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
‼️ THE COVID HOMICIDE WAVE HAS OFFICIALLY ENDED (at least in cities) ‼️ The quietly-released Major Cities Chief Assn violent crime data showed homicides fell by ~17%, to levels below those in 2020; higher still than 2019 (w 2 fewer agencies reporting), but lower than 2016 and 2017. This is BIG NEWS!
Year end 2023-2024 showing homicide drop from 7797 to 65202019 = 6406, 2020 = 85452017 = 6932, 2018 = 63882016 = 6957, 2015 = 6296
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Megan Stevenson @meganstevenson.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Paper🧵! We.... 1) develop a framework for identification w/ multiple treatments in a judge IV design 2) find that felony conviction (without incarceration) increases recidivism relative to dismissal with @johneric.bsky.social Aurelie Ouss @winnievd.bsky.social and Kamelia Stavreva 1/
This a screenshot of the abstract of our paper, called Conviction, Incarceration and Recidivism: Understanding the Revolving Door. It says "Noncarceral conviction is a common outcome of criminal court cases: for every individual
incarcerated, there are approximately three who were recently convicted but not sentenced to
prison or jail. We extend the binary-treatment judge IV framework to settings with multiple
treatments and use it to study the consequences of noncarceral conviction. We outline
assumptions under which widely-used 2SLS regressions recover margin-specific treatment
effects, relate these assumptions to models of judge decision-making, and derive an expression
that provides intuition about the direction and magnitude of asymptotic bias when a key
assumption on judge decision-making is not met. We find that noncarceral conviction (relative
to dismissal) leads to a large and long-lasting increase in recidivism for felony defendants in
Virginia. In contrast, incarceration (relative to noncarceral conviction) leads to a short-run
reduction in recidivism, consistent with incapacitation. Our empirical results suggest that
noncarceral felony conviction is an important and overlooked driver of recidivism."
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Jacob Kang-Brown @jkangbrown.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Vera is hiring a graduate student intern for the summer on my team. We’re researching incarceration and inequality, and looking for ~20 hours a week, in Brooklyn. Please share with graduate students you know who might be interested. boards.greenhouse.io/verainstitut...
boards.greenhouse.io
Summer 2025 - Graduate Research Intern, Incarceration and Inequality Project
Brooklyn, NY
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Here we go…
www-wtrf-com.cdn.ampproject.org
Staff at West Virginia federal prison resign after retention pay cuts in federal prisons
Recruitment and retention pay that has been used to address severe staff shortages at federal prisons across the country is being cut, according to the American Federation of Government Employees.
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
We are in the midst of an unprecedented prison staffing crisis. Those staff are crucial to prisons’ ability to offer programming, provide medical care, and help incarcerated people prepare for reentry. This will harm those in prison more than the staff. #corrections #criminaljustice
forbes.com
Bureau Of Prisons To Cancel Staff Retention Bonuses
The Bureau of Prisons had a retention bonus to keep workers on the job as the agency was losing employees. Now, the retention bonus has become another casualty of DOGE.
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Interesting new paper from a team including my @urbaninstitute.bsky.social colleague, @waltercamp.bsky.social, finding that "high effort" investigative activities (e.g., drug buys, surveillance) do not produce higher drug yields from search warrants. Important implications for police resourcing.
sciencedirect.com
Searching for a big score: Analyzing drug yield from search warrant executions
In this study, we investigated the extent to which law enforcement efforts predicted drug and other kinds of illicit yield in search warrant execution…
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Please join us in person at @urbaninstitute.bsky.social March 20-21 for a two-day symposium featuring a fantastic lineup of speakers from research and practice!
urban.org
Symposium on Prison Research and Innovation: Lessons Learned and Future Directions
Join the Urban Institute for a two-day conversation on correctional policy and research.
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JustLeadershipUSA @jlusa.org · 14/02/2025
“The financial and emotional toll borne by mothers whose adult children have experienced incarceration is often overlooked but can exacerbate financial burdens, especially for Black mothers.” Read more: phys.org/news/2025-0...
phys.org
Study reveals mothers' hidden financial toll from supporting incarcerated children
The financial and emotional toll borne by mothers whose adult children have experienced incarceration is often overlooked but can exacerbate financial burdens, especially for Black mothers, according ...
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Scientists and journalists need to figure out right quick how to explain to the average person how a massive change in research indirects will impact the medical care they and their children get (eg at the local children’s hospital), the education their children will get, the price of tuition, etc.
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NBER @nber.org · 02/02/2025
A framework that defines optimal outcomes in criminal courts and using it to interpret existing literature on racial disparities in pretrial detention, sentencing, and community corrections outcomes, from Shawn Bushway, Andrew Jordan, Derek Neal, and Steven Raphael www.nber.org/papers/w33403
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Katie Durante 🍹🦕 @professorkd.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Join us for this all-Star lineup on March 7!!!! Another banger hosted by American Society of Criminology (ASC) Division of Corrections and Sentencing (DCS) Mentoring Committee 🤗
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
We focus a lot on how tough the summers can be for facilities without AC… but prisons and jails aren’t exactly replete with blankets and other ways to stay warm. Cold spells like this can be tough to navigate, especially in states that aren’t used to them. #criminaljustice #crimsky #corrections
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Laura I Appleman @lawandlitprof.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Want to know more about the history of private prison corporations, big capital, and the market for incarceration? My latest from Maryland Law Review will be coming out soon! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Really fantastic to see what seems to be a bit of a movement toward increased external oversight of prisons. It's unfortunate that it took severe drug issues and particularly high in-custody deaths to get it done, but at least legislators are paying attention. #criminaljustice #crimsky #corrections
missouriindependent.com
Missouri lawmakers push for oversight panel to monitor conditions in state prisons • Missouri Independent
Historically high deaths, contraband infiltration and costly litigation are cited as issues plaguing Missouri prisons.
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Great new paper that supports oversight via accreditation. An additional data point that bears mention: "Our own data reveal a mortality problem that is much more severe, with death rates three times higher than those reported to federal authorities." (!!!) #criminaljustice #crimsky #corrections
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
"Complex and costly medical conditions require more nursing care, both in prison and after an inmate’s release. Across the country, prison systems often find themselves with few options. Nursing home beds can be hard to find even for those without criminal records." #criminaljustice #crimsky
nytimes.com
Sick Prisoners in New York Were Granted Parole but Remain Behind Bars
Prisons across the country are struggling to find nursing home placements for sick prisoners after granting them parole. In New York, some inmates are suing for release.
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
There is absolutely no reason to shackle those are pregnant, especially in the 3rd trimester, during labor, or shortly after birth. This is a step in the right direction. See more on reproductive healthcare from @urbaninstitute.bsky.social colleague @evelynfmccoy.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/2cskev97
19thnews.org
Missouri senator renews push to ban shackling of pregnant people in city and county jails
A bill would outlaw the use of restraints in the third trimester, during labor and for the first 48 hours postpartum “except in extraordinary circumstances.”
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
"To improve the success and impact of violence prevention efforts, cities should engage community members who have been affected by violence and apply their insights to inform policies and practices." Great new blog from @urbaninstitute.bsky.social colleagues Storm Ervin and Josh Fording #crimsky
urban.org
Community Voices Can Help Local Governments Prevent Violence
Despite violent crime rates falling since 2021, community violence remains a critical national issue. Three recommendations can help create a future without violence by elevating community insights.
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Matthew Hahn @matthewhahn.com · 15/01/2025
I am a former incarcerated firefighter. I served in a California fire camp from 2009 to 2012. Misinformation is afire on the internet, so here are facts about the prison firefighter program, all in one place. A thread.
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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
New blog post up. This is a technical one, on some strange--and I think unappreciated--disagreements between our two major ways of counting prison pops (NCRP vs NPS). It has some more general applications too: a good general warning that our crim legal system data are far messier than many think.
johnfpfaff.com
Technical Note on Prison Admissions in the National Corrections Reporting Program
A brief post on conflicts between the NCRP and NPS over prison admissions–a challenge for those doing empirical work on prisons, and a broader warning about the pitfalls in our criminal legal…
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Lucian E. Dervan @luciandervan.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
If you are interested in plea bargaining research, check out the searchable database of research findings from 1979-2023 at the Plea Bargaining Institute - pleabargaininginstitute.com/summaries/ #PleaBargainingInstitute #CriminalJustice #PleaBargaining #Innocence
pleabargaininginstitute.com
Summaries | Plea Bargaining Institute
The PBI summaries provide readers with key information about important research and case law in the plea bargaining field.
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
"Correctional oversight will take center stage in this year’s legislative sessions, driven by mounting scrutiny of worsening prison and jail conditions and the growing adoption of independent oversight bodies across the country." Great piece with insightful commentary by @micheledeitch.bsky.social
alabamareflector.com
Prison abuse, deaths and escapes prompt calls for more oversight • Alabama Reflector
As state legislatures convene in the coming weeks, many lawmakers are focusing on a key criminal justice issue for prisons and jails: more oversight.
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Prosecutors, judges, and legislators should all engage in activities like this to help them understand the reality of incarceration and reentry. It takes minimal effort and may not have an enormous impact, but it's doable and at least starts a conversation. #corrections #criminaljustice
newsfromthestates.com
North Dakota lawmakers role-play life after prison
For one hour Friday morning, Rep. Eric Murphy, R-Grand Forks, was “Chelsea” — a formerly incarcerated woman trying to make ends meet on $320 a week. He had to use his resources wisely to put food on t...
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Safer Prisons. Safer Communities. @saferprisonssafercommunities.org · 13/01/2025
As profiled in @npr.org, there's a growing shift in states across the country to enact tough-on-crime laws that are contributing to a rise in US prison populations, despite a long-established staffing crisis and over-crowding. Listen to SPSC partner @fammfoundation.bsky.social's Matthew Charles:
npr.org
The prison population is going up as prisons struggle with staffing and overpopulation
The prison population has been creeping back upward. New laws in some states instituting harsher punishments threaten to further fill prisons, many of which are already understaffed and overcrowded.
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Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
I had a lot of people asking me so I wrote an explainer: Here's how you can help the incarcerated firefighter battling the blazes in Southern California this week: www.latimes.com/california/s...
latimes.com
How you can help the incarcerated firefighters battling L.A. wildfires
The Los Angeles-based Anti-Recidivism Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to ending mass incarceration, started a fundraiser on Friday to support the fire crews of California’s prisons.
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
It is tough to say this strongly enough: *Prisons cannot recruit and retain their way out of this staffing crisis.* The obvious solution - which is admittedly unpopular in this political moment - is to decarcerate and implement sentencing reform to reduce numbers. 1/6 #criminaljustice #corrections
houstonchronicle.com
Texas prisons are scrambling to fix a staffing crisis: 'Getting out of hand'
Texas corrections officers are driving long distances to cover shifts in remote areas as the Department of Criminal Justice copes with short-staffing issues.
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Prison Journalism Project @prisonjournalism.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
How Plants and Pups Helped Transform This Prison Unit
prisonjournalismproject.org
How Plants and Pups Helped Transform This Prison Unit
Plants and puppies have turned our unit from gloomy and depressing to lively and more humane.
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
So-called "compassionate release" policies seem great - and we should want people nearing end of life to be out of prison and with loved ones - but the reality is complicated for two reasons: (1) carve-outs and (2) implementation. 1/5 #criminaljustice #criminology #crimsky #cjreform #corrections
boltsmag.org
Terminally Ill People Languish in North Carolina Prisons, Even After Reforms
State lawmakers expanded the law for people seeking medical release from prison, but eligibility remains limited.
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Shannon Heffernan @shannonheffernan.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
There are 395 incarcerated firefighters "actively engaged on multiple fronts" in the California fires, according to state officials. They are working with nearly 2,000 CAL FIRE firefighters in the LA area. So more than 1 in 10 fire fighters (16% to be exact) are from prisons.
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Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions @jhucgvs.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
48,204 lives were lost to gun violence in 2022. Due to their high lethality and availability, guns fuel our country’s high suicide and homicide rates. Four out of every five homicides and more than half of all suicides are by firearm. Learn more: publichealth.jhu.edu/center-for-g...
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Just Detention International @justdetention.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Jimmy Carter was a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform, including calling for an end to the death penalty and lessening sentences for drug-related crimes. We are thankful for his activism on behalf of incarcerated people and legacy as a champion for human rights. jlusa.org/2024/12/29/r...
jlusa.org
Remembering Jimmy Carter for his record on criminal justice reform
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Reading the headline I assumed they would rather be executed than die in prison, but it's actually a strategic decision that reflects the system's perverse incentives. The individuals are actively appealing their sentences and the standard of review is more favorable if they are sentenced to death.
nbcnews.com
Two death row inmates reject Biden's commutation of their life sentences
Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis were among 37 of the 40 federal prisoners whose death sentences were changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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David Pitts @davidpitts.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Thanks to KPBS for interviewing me about an important new exploratory study led by my @urbaninstitute.bsky.social colleague, @evelynfmccoy.bsky.social. The study is based on interviews with 34 women about access to reproductive care in jail. 1/5
kpbs.org
Study reveals gaps in reproductive health care at Las Colinas jail
A new study reveals barriers women face in accessing reproductive health services at the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility.
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Moira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Oh no it’s national Circling Back day.
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