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Federal prison population down by 4,800 in a year

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, hailing a drop in the number of federal prison inmates, finds that high rates of imprisonment do not increase public safety.

By Frances Burns
Attorney General Eric Holder. UPI/Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Pool
Attorney General Eric Holder. UPI/Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Pool | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The number of inmates in federal prisons dropped by almost 5,000 in the past year, the first decline since 1980, the U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday.

The department released excerpts from a speech Attorney General Eric Holder was to give later in the day at New York University hailing the "historic" shift. Holder has adopted policies that cut sentences for non-violent drug offenders, and the Fair Sentencing Act, passed four years ago, also reduced the longer sentences given for offenses involving crack instead of powdered cocaine.

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According to Holder, "Statistics have shown -- and all of us have seen -- that high incarceration rates and longer-than-necessary prison terms have not played a significant role in materially improving public safety, reducing crime or strengthening communities."

The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. Even with the decline of 4,800 federal inmates in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, there will be about 215,000 prisoners in U.S. prisons and many more in state prisons and county jails.

The federal prison population has increased by about 800 percent since 1980, a time when new mandatory minimum sentences were adopted for many crimes.

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In July, the U.S. Sentencing Commission found that 50,000 inmates are potentially eligible for early release under new guidelines. In Holder's speech, he predicted that the net decline in the coming year would be 2,000, with another 10,000 in the following year.

"This is nothing less than historic," the text of Holder's speech said. "To put these numbers in perspective, 10,000 inmates is the rough equivalent of the combined populations of six federal prisons, each filled to capacity."

Because federal prisons now hold 30 percent more inmates than they were designed for, none are likely to be closed in the short run.

The dramatic increase in the prison population occurred during a time when crime rates dropped. Some critics of the Obama administration's policy have suggested the harsh sentences were responsible for that decline.

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