Policy Panel: Federal Prisons at a Crossroads

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

The federal prison system has grown explosively in recent decades. Between 1980 and 2013, the federal imprisonment rate soared more than 500 percent, inflation-adjusted spending on the Bureau of Prisons grew nearly 600 percent, and the number of federal prison facilities nearly tripled. But an important change is under way. The number of federal inmates has declined in each of the past three years and is now at its lowest level in a decade, with further reductions projected in the years ahead. This panel will examine the policy decisions that led to the dramatic rise in the federal prison population—as well as to its more recent decline—and evaluate the prospects for future reforms under a newly elected president and Congress.

Sub Unit

• Policy Panels

Individual Presentations

• Policy Changes and the Federal Prison Count, 1980-present - John Gramlich, The Pew Charitable Trusts

• The Role of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines - Glenn Schmitt, U.S. Sentencing Commission

• The Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections: Findings and Recommendations - Nancy La Vigne, Urban Institute

• Federal Criminal Justice Reform in 2017 and Beyond - Molly Gill, Families Against Mandatory Minimums

Chair

• John Gramlich, The Pew Charitable Trusts