The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world—nearly 2 million individuals behind bars. But if you ask the average policymaker, you’d think the crisis was caused by low-level drug use, fixed by a few tweaks, and driven by a public that demands “tough-on-crime” measures.
None of this is true.
According to the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI)—a nonprofit known for producing some of the most reliable data on the carceral system—these popular beliefs about mass incarceration are not just misleading; they are dangerous. In their widely cited brief “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie,” PPI breaks down the myths that continue to dominate the conversation and block meaningful reform.
Here are ten of the most persistent myths—debunked with facts:
1. Mass incarceration is driven by nonviolent drug offenses.
This myth is politically convenient but factually wrong. While the “War on Drugs” expanded the reach of the criminal legal system, drug offenses account for only about one in five people in prison. The majority of people incarcerated in state prisons—which house most incarcerated individuals—are there for violent offenses. If we want to end mass incarceration, we have to be willing to talk about violence.
2. We can end mass incarceration without changing how we treat violent offenses.
Reform conversations often draw a bright line between “nonviolent” and “violent” crimes. But this distinction ignores how broadly the law defines violence—sometimes including crimes where no one was physically harmed. If we exclude people convicted of violence from reform, we leave out more than half of the prison population, according to PPI.
3. People are in prison because of a single bad decision.
The typical incarcerated person has faced a lifetime of systemic disadvantage: poverty, racial discrimination, trauma, and lack of access to healthcare or education. As PPI notes, mass incarceration reflects social failure more than personal failure.
4. The system is broken and just needs reform.
PPI aligns with abolitionist thinkers in arguing that the system isn’t broken—it was built this way on purpose. From its origins in slavery and Jim Crow to its modern policies of control and exclusion, the system functions precisely as designed: to punish, to isolate, and to control marginalized populations.
5. Prisons make us safer.
Evidence shows that the crime-prevention effect of incarceration is minimal at best, especially beyond short periods. According to PPI, locking people up doesn’t address the root causes of harm and often makes communities less safe by destabilizing families and increasing poverty.
6. Crime rates drive incarceration rates.
Not true. PPI’s research shows that incarceration rates have risen even when crime has fallen. Policy—not crime—is the driver: mandatory minimums, three-strikes laws, prosecutorial discretion, and parole revocations all keep the prison population high, regardless of crime levels.
7. Private prisons are the main problem.
Private prisons have become a potent symbol of injustice—but they house only about 8% of incarcerated people. The vast majority of incarcerated individuals are in publicly-run prisons and jails. Mass incarceration is not a corporate conspiracy—it’s a government policy.
8. Reforms that tweak the system are enough.
PPI makes clear that piecemeal reforms—like reducing bail or expanding diversion—are important, but not enough. Real decarceration means reconsidering whom we incarcerate, for how long, and whether incarceration should be used at all.
9. Victims want harsh punishment.
Contrary to popular belief, many crime survivors support alternatives to incarceration. PPI points to research showing that victims often want accountability, healing, and support—not long prison sentences. Restorative justice programs, not retribution, are what many survivors seek.
10. The public isn’t ready for deep reform.
This is another political myth. PPI highlights polling data showing that most Americans favor alternatives to prison—especially when framed around treatment, prevention, and rehabilitation. Politicians often lag behind the public on this issue.
Mass incarceration is not the result of a single bad policy—it’s the result of myths we’ve accepted for decades. The Prison Policy Initiative’s work makes clear that tackling incarceration means telling the truth: about violence, about policy, and about the human beings our system discards.
We can’t chart a path toward decarceration until we dismantle the narrative scaffolding that props up this system. The first step is to stop asking how to improve incarceration, and start asking why we use it so readily in the first place.
As the Prison Policy Initiative reminds us: if we want different results, we must be willing to challenge the stories we tell—and the ones we choose to believe.
