State Incarceration Policy in the U.S. Federal System: Assessing Recent Approaches to Reducing Incarceration Rates

Abstract

Although scholarship analyzing U.S. incarceration policy generally focuses on the federal government and federal criminal justice laws, state and local governments are principally responsible for the criminal justice strategy and tactics utilized within their jurisdictions, and that determines the size of state correctional populations. The overwhelming majority of the total U.S. prison population is under the jurisdiction of state correctional authorities. Since 2010, forty-six states have reduced their prison populations, but the efficacy of these reforms and interventions has varied considerably. Utilizing a series of case studies, I analyze a range of state approaches to reducing the prison population and consider the effectiveness of these policies. The most effective approaches have focused on reducing prison admissions, creating or expanding early release opportunities, and decreasing readmission of conditional release violators.