National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Law and Justice

As the Foundation explores the issue of high incarceration -- the large increase in imprisonment since the 1970s -- it is evident that there are significant knowledge gaps regarding the causes and consequences of incarceration. The National Research Council -- an arm of the National Academy of Science that conducts workshops, develops studies, evaluates programs, and provides research fellowships to inform policy and practice in education, science, engineering, technology, health, criminal justice and other areas of social policy -- will use this grant to the support a multi-year panel to assess existing research on incarceration, identify research gaps, and offer policy recommendations.