LUN HUNG

Louisiana’s 64 parishes range from bustling cities to vast rural stretches, from the parks and preserves of the north to the swamps and marshes of the gulf. Yet, they all share one defining characteristic: a stake in the state’s vast network of jails, prisons, and juvenile detention facilities.

The prevalence of incarceration in Louisiana is hard to see in many places due to an alarming lack of transparency and data, as well as a convoluted carceral landscape where local jails also function as prisons. But parish- and state-level research by the Vera Institute of Justice brings much-needed clarity to this picture. Vera’s datahub provides illuminating access to parish-level data on arrests, pretrial detention, incarceration, and local spending on the criminal legal system. Together, these data points create a detailed—and highly damning—picture of mass incarceration in Louisiana.