Almost Half Of Federal Prisoners Held For Drug Crimes

By Nicole Flatow

Although the overall U.S. prison population declined slightly in 2011, the federal prison population continued to rise, with rates of drug and immigration offenders that eclipse those held for violent crimes. While only 8 percent of federal prisoners were sentenced for violent crimes in 2011, almost half of federal inmates – 48 percent – were in prison for drug crimes, according to Department of Justice statistics. Another 11 percent were held for immigration offenses – one of the largest-growing segments of the prison population.

These numbers reflect the impact of the aggressive U.S. “War on Drugs,” a major contributor to the United States’ standing as the number one jailer in the world. Overall declines in U.S. prisons of 0.9 percent are attributable to state prisons, as some states have been moved by budget crises to adopt innovative reforms, and some jurisdictions have moved toward decriminalizing minor drug offenses.

But federal drug law remains draconian, with harsh mandatory minimum sentences for sometimes minor nonviolent roles in drug deals.

Continue Reading @ Think Progress

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Too Many Prisoners

Editorial

The Justice Department in its recent annual report on federal sentencing issues wisely acknowledged that public safety can be maximized without maximizing prison spending. As it noted, the growing federal prison population, now more than 218,000 inmates, and a prison budget of almost $6.2 billion are “incompatible with a balanced crime policy and are unsustainable.”

The department calls for reforms “to make our public safety expenditures smarter and more productive.” Yet it fails to address sentencing changes that should be made, which would significantly reduce the problem of overincarceration in federal prisons.

Last fall, the United States Sentencing Commission issued a comprehensive report that said mandatory minimum sentences are often “excessively severe,” especially for people convicted of drug-trafficking offenses, who make up more than 75 percent of those given such sentences. Mandatory minimums have contributed in the last 20 years to the near tripling of federal prisoners, with more than half the prisoners now in for drug crimes.

There is no good evidence that long mandatory sentences deter crime. There is very good evidence that older prisoners (45 and up) are the least dangerous and that many should be released.

The Justice Department report does not mention mandatory minimum sentences or their major contribution to overincarceration in federal prisons. And it fails to urge Congress to make repealing mandatory minimums a high priority, as it should. It does not mention releasing older prisoners, which the Federal Bureau of Prisons has the power to do.

Nor does it mention adjusting its own policies on drug cases so it would put away fewer offenders not considered dangerous. About 25,000 people were convicted of federal drug offenses last year, almost the same number as during the Bush administration in 2008 — a substantial proportion in low-level roles of drug trafficking, according to the Sentencing Commission.

The department sensibly calls for more cost-effective prison policies, but that would require reconsideration of the basic purpose of punishment. The unsustainable federal prison budget and the rising inmate population reflect the country’s long, wasteful embrace of retribution. Both numbers are higher than they need to be for public safety.

Via @ The New York Times

 

Ending prison abuses

The nation needs to take prison crimes, and the need for strong rehabilitative efforts, more seriously. The new standards are at least a step toward that.

Inmates walk for exercise at the Utah State Prison Timpanogos Facility in Draper.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

 

 

1 in 10 inmates sexually assaulted behind bars

For many years, public policymakers have been emphasizing punishment in the correctional system, rather than rehabilitation. So-called three-strikes laws and mandatory minimum sentences in many states aim to put even relatively minor offenders away for life rather than finding ways to encourage and help them overcome the issues that make them a threat to others; issues that often have much to do with mental illness or a life tainted from the beginning by abusive behavior.

A new survey by the Justice Department‘s Bureau of Justice Statistics paints a vivid and disturbing picture of how halfway houses, jails and prisons in the United States are rife with abuses. No doubt abuses long have been a part of prison life, but the public attitude toward prisons as human warehouses may well have encouraged a culture within those prisons that ignores these abuses. In any case, the overwhelming majority of people in prison or jail eventually will be released. If people can’t find it in themselves to be concerned about prison abuses for humanitarian reasons, they ought to be concerned about how such inmates will act when suddenly released back into society.

The Department of Justice also has released new mandatory, nationwide standards designed to prevent sexual abuses within prisons and other detention facilities. These require tough policies against rape, allow inmates a longer period of time in which to report such abuses and improve services available for victims. Each facility will be audited once every three years to ensure compliance.

The Obama administration has dragged its feet on these new standards. Two years have passed since the deadline Congress imposed for announcing them. And while they are a step in the right direction, the standards could have been tougher. Three years seems a long time between audits, and there should be definite penalties applied to facilities that don’t demonstrate progress. Of course, budget limitations, as always, are a factor in any standards involving corrections. During recent difficult economic times, states have been looking for ways to ease the burdens of their prison budgets.

That is due mainly to the large numbers of people incarcerated in the United States. The government reported 2,266,800 people behind bars in state and federal prisons in 2010, with a grand total of 7,225,800 adults involved in some part of the criminal justice system. No other developed nation on earth has such a high rate of incarceration. While cause-and-effect correlations are difficult to prove, there may well be a connection between this rate and declining rates of crime in this nation. This does not mean, however, that abuses should be tolerated.

Continue Reading @ DeseretNews

 

 

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