LegiStorm

Summary:

Since the early 1980s, there has been a historically unprecedented increase in the federal prison population. Some of the growth is attributable to changes in federal criminal justice policy during the previous three decades. An issue before Congress is whether policy makers consider the rate of growth in the federal prison population sustainable, and if not, what changes could be made to federal criminal justice policy to reduce the prison population while maintaining public safety. This report explores the issues related to the growing federal prison population. The number of inmates under the Bureau of Prisons (BOPs) jurisdiction has increased from approximately 25,000 in FY1980 to over 219,000 in FY2013. Since FY1980, the federal prison population has increased, on average, by approximately 5,900 inmates each year. Data show that a growing proportion of inmates are being incarcerated for immigration- and weapons-related offenses, but the largest portion of newly admitted inmates are being incarcerated for drug offenses. Data also show that approximately 7 in 10 inmates are sentenced for five years or less. Changes in federal sentencing and correctional policy since the early 1980s have contributed to the rapid growth in the federal prison population. These changes include increasing the number of federal offenses subject to mandatory minimum sentences; changes to the federal criminal code that have made more crimes federal offenses; and eliminating parole. There are several issues related to the growing federal prison population that might be of interest to policy makers: The increasing number of federal inmates, combined with the rising per capita cost of incarceration, has made it increasingly more expensive to operate and maintain the federal prison system. The per capita cost of incarceration for all inmates increased from $21,603 in FY2000 to $29,291 in FY2013. During this same period of time, appropriations for the BOP increased from $3.668 billion to $6.445 billion. The federal prison system is increasingly overcrowded. Overall, the federal prison system was 36% over its rated capacity in FY2013, but high- and medium-security male facilities were operating at 52% and 45%, respectively, over rated capacity. At issue is whether overcrowding might lead to more inmate misconduct. The results of research on this topic have been mixed. One study found that overcrowding does not affect inmate misconduct; but the BOP, based on its own research, concluded that there is a significant positive relationship between the two. The inmate-to-staff ratio has increased from 4.1 inmates per staff member in FY2000 to 4.8 inmates per staff member in FY2013. The inmate to correctional officer ratio was the same in FY2013 as it was in FY2000 (9.9 inmates for each correctional officer), and the current inmate to correctional officer ratio is down from a high of 10.9 inmates per correctional officer in FY2005. The growing prison population is taking a toll on the infrastructure of the federal prison system. The BOP reports that it has a backlog of 159 modernization and repair projects with an approximate cost of $342 million. Past appropriations left the BOP in a position where it could expand bedspace to manage overcrowding but not reduce it. However, reductions in funding since FY2010 mean that the BOP will lack the funding to begin new prison construction in the near future. At the same time, it has become more expensive to expand the BOPs capacity. Should Congress choose to consider policy options to address the issues resulting from the growth in the federal prison population, policy makers could choose options such as increasing the capacity of the federal prison system by building more prisons; investing in rehabilitative programming (e.g., substance abuse treatment or educational programs) as a way of keeping inmates constructively occupied and potentially reducing recidivism after inmates are released; or placing more inmates in private prisons. Policy makers might also consider whether they want to revise some of the policy changes that have been made over the past three decades that have contributed to the steadily increasing number of offenders being incarcerated. For example, Congress could consider options such as (1) modifying mandatory minimum penalties, (2) expanding the use of Residential Reentry Centers, (3) placing more offenders on probation, (4) reinstating parole for federal inmates, (5) expanding the amount of good time credit an inmate can earn, and (6) repealing federal criminal statutes for some offenses.