Quick Facts

• • Since Congress created mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes in the 1980s, the federal prison population has grown from 24,000 prisoners to over 214,000 prisoners – the largest prison system in the country. (Federal Bureau of Prisons)
  • One in 31 adults in America is either behind bars, on parole, or on probation. (Pew Center on the States)
  • There is no parole in the federal criminal justice system – all federal prisoners are required to serve at least 85% of their sentences. (Pew Center on the States)
  • In 2015, 87% of all federal offenders received a sentence of imprisonment; only 10% received probation or home confinement. (US Sentencing Commission, 2015 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics)
  • In 2015, 95% of all federal drug offenders received prison sentences. (US Sentencing Commission, 2015 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics)
  • In 2015, 46% of all federal drug offenders were subject to a mandatory minimum sentence. (US Sentencing Commission, 2015 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics)
  • 52% of (the 21,475) drug offenders in FY 2014 were convicted of an offense that carries a mandatory minimum penalty. (US Sentencing Commission Report to Congress: Mandatory Minimum Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System)

  Nearly half of all federal prisoners are serving prison sentences for drugs. (US Sentencing Commission, 2015 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics, Figure A)

• In 2015, the average federal prison sentence for a drug offender was more than 1 1 years. (S. Dept. of Justice Special Report: ‘Drug Offenders in Federal Prison.”)
• While longer sentences do have some deterrent effect, the majority of deterrence is derived from the first few years in prison. (Mastrobuoni, Giovanni and Rivers, David A., Criminal Discount Factors and Deterrence.)
• Data shows that in the case of incarceration versus remaining in the community, there was a 7% increase in recidivism for those offenders who were in prison.  Researchers also find an increased likelihood that lower-risk offenders will be more negatively affected by incarceration. (Gendreau, Paul and Goggin, Claire, The Effects of Prison Sentences on Recidivism.)
• Research to date generally indicates that increases in the certainty of punishment, as opposed to the severity of punishment, are more likely to produce deterrent benefits. (Wright, Valerie, Deterrence in Criminal Justice Evaluating Certainty vs. Severity of Punishment.) 
• Among low-risk offenders, those who spent less time in prison were 4% less likely to recidivate than low-risk offenders who served longer sentences. (Lin Song and Roxanne Lieb, “Recidivism: The Effect of Incarceration and Length of Time Served,” Olympia, WA: Washington State Institute of Public Policy.)

• Since 1998, Congress has cut funding for state and local law enforcement by 76 percent while increasing the federal prison budget by 45 percent over this same time. (FAMM Foundation)
• The federal prison system consumes over 25 percent of the entire Department of Justice budget. Prison costs are eating up money that could be spent on police and protecting the public from violent offenders. (Statement of Wisconsin Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner.)
• State spending on corrections has grown 324% in the last 33 years. This is triple the rate spending on education has increased. (A Brief from the U.S. Department of Education, Policy and Program Studies Service.)
• The average cost of keeping one inmate incarcerated in 2014 was $30,619.85 ($83.89 per day). (Office of the Federal Register)
• Taxpayers spend over $50 billion annually for state prisons. (Pew Center on the States)
• 87% agreed that “Prisons are a government program, and just like any other government program they need to be put to the cost-benefit test to make sure taxpayers are getting the best bang for their buck.” (Pew Center on the States)
• Compared to the 1 out of 125 American children that had a parent behind bars 25 years ago, today, 1 out of every 28 American children have a parent behind bars. “Two-thirds of these children’s parents were incarcerated for nonviolent offenses.” (Pew: Collateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Economic Mobility.”)
• 7% of children- or 5 million children- in the United States have had a parent incarcerated at some point during their lifetime. This percentage varies by state, but in Kentucky, more than 1 in 10 (13%) of children have had a parent incarcerated in their lifetime.(Annie E. Casey Foundation)

A recent survey done by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that 65% of families with a family member in prison or jail could not meet basic needs, and when fathers are incarcerated, family income can drop by an average of 22 percent.

• 77% of Americans support eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders. (Reason-Rupe Public Opinion Survey)
• 84% of Americans believe that some of the money that we are spending on locking up low-risk, non-violent inmates should be shifted to strengthening community corrections programs like probation and parole. (Pew Center on the States)
• When asked about drug policy, 67% of Americans thought the government should focus more on providing treatment, while only 26% thought the government should focus more on prosecuting drug users (7% didn’t know). (Pew Center on the States)
• Voters think, on average, that about a fifth of prisoners could be released without posing a threat to public safety. (Pew Center on the States)
• 62% strongly favor sending fewer low-risk, non-violent offenders to prison in order to keep violent criminals in prison for their full sentence. (Pew Center on the States)
• 59% strongly favor sending fewer low-risk, non-violent offenders to prison and re-investing in alternatives to incarceration. (Pew Center on the States)
• 88% agreed that “We have too many low-risk, nonviolent offenders in prison. We need alternatives to incarceration that cost less and save our expensive prison space for violent and career criminals.” (Pew Center on the States)
• 87% agreed that “Prisons are a government program, and just like any other government program they need to be put to the cost-benefit test to make sure taxpayers are getting the best bang for their buck.” (Pew Center on the States)