Categorization of Offenses

By Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., and Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA

Program Statement 5162.07 at a glance

Field	Value
Program Statement	5162.07
Subject	Categorization of Offenses
Effective / current edition date	September 3, 2026
Change notice	None. This is a full reissue, not a change notice.
Supersedes / rescinds	Program Statement 5162.06, Categorization of Offenses (3/19/2026), which had itself replaced PS 5162.05 (3/16/2009)
Governing statute	18 U.S.C. § 3621(e)(2)(B) (early release after residential drug abuse treatment)
Governing regulation (28 C.F.R.)	§ 550.55 — Eligibility for early release. This is the rule that actually creates the exclusions.
Official PDF	PS 5162.07 (bop.gov)

Checked against the BOP policy set · 2026-09-06.

This Program Statement is the Bureau of Prisons’ master list of which federal offenses it treats as “crimes of violence” and which other offenses the Director has decided will block access to certain Bureau program benefits. It is the document that decides, for administrative purposes, whether someone can receive early release after completing the residential drug abuse program, take a furlough, or qualify for several other benefits — and the single most consulted document in the federal prison system for people trying to find out whether their statute of conviction is on a list.

Read this page together with the Residential Drug Abuse Program, which explains how RDAP actually works from application to completion, and with offenses that preclude early release, which covers eligibility disputes and what can be done about a determination. This page is the source list: the statutes themselves, reproduced from the Bureau’s document.

One distinction governs everything below, and getting it backwards is the most common mistake people make with this document. The exclusions are created by a regulation, not by this Program Statement. 28 C.F.R. § 550.55 is what binds the Bureau: it sets out who is eligible for early release under § 3621(e) and, at subsection (b), the categories the Director has excluded as an exercise of discretion. PS 5162.07 is the Bureau’s categorization of specific statutes under that rule — an internal instruction telling staff which U.S. Code sections fall into which bucket. A statute appearing on one of these lists is the Bureau’s classification of it, not a legal holding, and the Program Statement itself is not enforceable the way the regulation is.

The rule itself: the offense lists in PS 5162.07

The Program Statement is organized into two operative sections. Section 3 lists offenses categorized as crimes of violence. Section 4 lists offenses that, at the Director’s discretion, preclude certain program benefits without being crimes of violence. The Program Statement instructs staff that “[s]ome of the U.S.C. sections may be listed in more than one section below; such duplication is indicated by an asterisk,” and that where an offense is not listed at all but staff believe it might preclude benefits, “they must contact the Office of General Counsel’s Legislative and Correctional Issues Branch for clarification” (PS 5162.07 at p. 2).

Section 3.a — Criminal offenses that are crimes of violence in all cases

“Any felony conviction for an offense listed below is categorized as a crime of violence.”

Statute	Description
18 U.S.C. § 32	Destruction of aircraft
18 U.S.C. § 33	Destruction of motor vehicles or motor vehicle facilities
18 U.S.C. § 34	Penalty when death results
18 U.S.C. § 35(b)	Conveying false information that harms human life
18 U.S.C. § 36	Firing weapons into group of persons (VCCLEA addition)
18 U.S.C. § 37	Violence at international airports (VCCLEA addition)
18 U.S.C. § 43	Force, violence, and threats involving animal enterprises
18 U.S.C. § 81	Arson w/in maritime jurisdiction
18 U.S.C. § 111	Assaulting officers of the United States
18 U.S.C. § 112(a)	Assaulting foreign officials
18 U.S.C. § 113	Assaults w/in maritime jurisdictions
18 U.S.C. § 114	Maiming w/in maritime jurisdiction
18 U.S.C. § 115	Threatening family member of a federal official
18 U.S.C. § 116	Female genital mutilation
18 U.S.C. § 117	Domestic assault by an habitual offender
18 U.S.C. § 175	Biological weapons
18 U.S.C. § 229	Prohibited activities (chemical weapons)
18 U.S.C. § 231	Civil disorders
18 U.S.C. § 245	Federally protected activities
18 U.S.C. § 247	Damage to religious property; obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs
18 U.S.C. § 248	Freedom of access to clinic entrances
18 U.S.C. § 249	Hate crime acts
18 U.S.C. § 351	Assassination of cabinet and congress members
18 U.S.C. § 373	Soliciting to commit a violent act
18 U.S.C. § 521(c)(2)	Criminal street gangs
18 U.S.C. § 594	Intimidation of voters (includes misdemeanor conviction)
18 U.S.C. § 753	Rescue of an inmate to prevent execution
18 U.S.C. § 832	Participation in nuclear and weapons of mass destruction threats to the United States
18 U.S.C. § 842	Explosive materials
18 U.S.C. § 844	Penalties
18 U.S.C. § 871	Threats against the President
18 U.S.C. § 875(a)(b)(c)	Interstate communications
18 U.S.C. § 878	Threats against foreign officials
18 U.S.C. § 879	Threats against former presidents
18 U.S.C. § 922 (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(5), (a)(7), (a)(8), (a)(9), (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(4), (b)(5), (c), (d)(1), (d)(2), (d)(4), (d)(8), (d)(9), (k), (n), (o), (p), (q)(2), (q)(3), (r), (s)(1), (t)(1), (u), (x)(1)(A), (x)(2)(A), & (z)(1)	Firearms violations
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)	Firearms used in violent or drug trafficking crimes
18 U.S.C. § 924(j)	Murder in the course of carrying, using, and discharging a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime
18 U.S.C. § 929	Use of restricted ammunition
18 U.S.C. § 930(a)(b)(c), (felony only)	Possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in Federal facilities
18 U.S.C. § 956	Conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons or damage property in a foreign country
18 U.S.C. § 970(a)	Damage of property owned by foreign governments
18 U.S.C. § 1091	Genocide
18 U.S.C. § 1111	Murder
18 U.S.C. § 1112	Manslaughter (voluntary only)
18 U.S.C. § 1113	Attempt to commit murder or manslaughter
18 U.S.C. § 1114	Murder of officers
18 U.S.C. § 1116	Murder of foreign officials
18 U.S.C. § 1117	Conspiracy to murder
18 U.S.C. § 1118	Murder in correctional institution (VCCLEA addition)
18 U.S.C. § 1119	Foreign murder of US national (VCCLEA addition)
18 U.S.C. § 1120	Murder by escaped prisoner (VCCLEA addition)
18 U.S.C. § 1121	Murder of state or local officer (VCCLEA addition)
18 U.S.C. § 1201	Kidnapping
18 U.S.C. § 1203	Hostage taking
18 U.S.C. § 1204	International parental kidnapping
18 U.S.C. § 1363	Buildings or property within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction
18 U.S.C. § 1364	Interference with foreign commerce by violence
18 U.S.C. § 1365	Tampering with consumer products except 1365(b),(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1366	Destruction of an energy facility
18 U.S.C. § 1368	Harming animals used in law enforcement
18 U.S.C. § 1369	Destruction of veterans’ memorials
18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)	Killing witness or victim
18 U.S.C. § 1513	Retaliation against witness or victim
18 U.S.C. § 1531	Partial-birth abortions prohibited
18 U.S.C. § 1581	Peonage
18 U.S.C. § 1583	Enticement into slavery
18 U.S.C. § 1584	Sale into servitude
18 U.S.C. § 1585	Slave trading
18 U.S.C. § 1587	Possession of slaves aboard a vessel
18 U.S.C. § 1588	Transporting slaves
18 U.S.C. § 1589(a)(1)(2)	Forced labor
18 U.S.C. § 1590(a)	Trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, or forced labor
18 U.S.C. § 1591	Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or coercion
18 U.S.C. § 1594(a)	Attempt to commit sex trafficking of minors
18 U.S.C. § 1594(c)	Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children
18 U.S.C. § 1651	Piracy
18 U.S.C. § 1652	Citizens as pirates
18 U.S.C. § 1653	Aliens as pirates
18 U.S.C. § 1655	Assault on commander as pirates
18 U.S.C. § 1659	Attack to plunder a vessel
18 U.S.C. § 1661	Robbery ashore
18 U.S.C. § 1751	Assassination of president or staff
18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(5)	Restricted building or grounds
18 U.S.C. § 1792	Mutiny or riot
18 U.S.C. § 1841	Protection of unborn children
18 U.S.C. § 1855	Timber set afire
18 U.S.C. § 1859	Surveys interrupted
18 U.S.C. § 1864	Hazardous devices on federal lands
18 U.S.C. § 1958	Use of interstate commerce in murder for hire
18 U.S.C. § 1959	Violent crimes aiding racketeering
18 U.S.C. § 1991	Entering train to commit crime
18 U.S.C. § 1992	Wrecking trains
18 U.S.C. § 2101	Riots
18 U.S.C. § 2111	Special maritime jurisdiction
18 U.S.C. § 2113(d), (e)	Bank robbery and incidental crimes
18 U.S.C. § 2114	Assault of person carrying mail
18 U.S.C. § 2115	Breaking into post office
18 U.S.C. § 2116	Railway or steamboat post office
18 U.S.C. § 2118(a), (b), (c)	Robberies and burglaries involving controlled substances
18 U.S.C. § 2119	Crimes involving motor vehicles
18 U.S.C. § 2191	Cruelty to seamen
18 U.S.C. § 2231(b)	Assault or resistance
18 U.S.C. § 2232(a)	Destruction of property to prevent seizure
18 U.S.C. § 2233	Rescue of seized property
18 U.S.C. § 2241	Aggravated sexual abuse
18 U.S.C. § 2242	Sexual abuse
18 U.S.C. § 2243(a)	Sexual abuse of a minor or ward
18 U.S.C. § 2244(a), (c)	Abusive sexual contact
18 U.S.C. § 2245	Sexual abuse resulting in death (VCCLEA addition)
18 U.S.C. § 2251	Sexual exploitation of children
18 U.S.C. § 2251A	Selling or buying of children
18 U.S.C. § 2260(a)	Production of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation into the United States
18 U.S.C. § 2261	Interstate domestic violence (VCCLEA addition)
18 U.S.C. § 2271	Conspiracy to destroy vessels
18 U.S.C. § 2272	Destruction of vessel by owner
18 U.S.C. § 2273	Destruction of vessel by nonowner
18 U.S.C. § 2275	Firing or tampering with vessels
18 U.S.C. § 2276	Breaking and entering vessels
18 U.S.C. § 2277(a)	Explosives or dangerous weapons aboard vessels
18 U.S.C. § 2280	Violence against maritime navigation (VCCLEA addition)
18 U.S.C. § 2281	Violence against fixed platforms (VCCLEA addition) (other than subsection (A))
18 U.S.C. § 2283	Transportation of explosive, biological, chemical, or radioactive or nuclear materials
18 U.S.C. § 2284	Transportation of terrorists
18 U.S.C. § 2291	Destruction of vessel or maritime facility (other than subsections (a)(8)-(9))
18 U.S.C. § 2332	Penalties for homicide
18 U.S.C. § 2332a	Use of weapons of mass destruction (VCCLEA addition)
18 U.S.C. § 2332b	Acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries
18 U.S.C. § 2332f	Bombings of place of public use, government facilities, public transportation systems and infrastructure facilities
18 U.S.C. § 2339	Harboring or concealing terrorists
18 U.S.C. § 2339A	Providing material support to terrorists
18 U.S.C. § 2339B	Providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations
18 U.S.C. § 2340A	Torture
18 U.S.C. § 2383	Rebellion or insurrection
18 U.S.C. § 2384	Sedition conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 2385	Advocating the overthrow of the government
18 U.S.C. § 2389	Recruiting for service against U.S.
18 U.S.C. § 2390	Enlistment to serve against U.S.
18 U.S.C. § 2421	Transportation for illegal sexual activity
18 U.S.C. § 2422	Coercion into interstate travel for illegal sexual activity
18 U.S.C. § 2423	Transportation of minors for illegal sexual activity
18 U.S.C. § 2425	Use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor
21 U.S.C. § 841(d)	Boobytraps on Federal property
21 U.S.C. § 848(e)	Death penalty for criminal offenses
21 U.S.C. § 858	Endangering human life while manufacturing controlled substances
26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(a)-(l)	Firearms
42 U.S.C. § 2000(e)(13)	Killing of officer while enforcing Equal Employment Act
42 U.S.C. § 2283(a)	Protection of nuclear inspectors
42 U.S.C. § 2284(a)	Sabotage of nuclear facilities
42 U.S.C. § 3631	Interference with housing
49 U.S.C. § 46502	Aircraft piracy
49 U.S.C. § 46504	Interference with flight crew members
49 U.S.C. § 46505	Carrying a weapon or explosive on an aircraft
49 U.S.C. § 46507	False information and threats

Source: PS 5162.07 at pp. 2–6.

Section 3.b — Bank robbery and incidental crimes

Section 3.b addresses 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), which covers several different offenses in one subsection. The Program Statement explains: “This statute covers various offenses, including bank robbery but also embezzling bank funds, stealing bank property, and bank larceny. Regarding the specific crime of bank robbery, the offense is considered to be a crime of violence because it involves the threatened use of force. For offenses pursuant to § 2113(a) other than bank robbery, see Section 4.e. in this program statement” (PS 5162.07 at p. 7). So a § 2113(a) conviction is not self-executing either way — what the conviction was actually for controls.

Section 3.c — Offenses that may be violent depending on the underlying offense

“If the underlying offense is categorized as violent in Section 3.a. or is listed in Section 3.b. of this program statement, then the attempt or the conspiracy to commit the offense is also violent. The underlying offense will be included in the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) and may be noted on the Judgment and Commitment (J&C) Order.”

Statute	Description
18 U.S.C. § 2	Aiding and abetting
18 U.S.C. § 241	Conspiracy against rights
18 U.S.C. § 371	Conspiracy to commit offense/fraud against U.S.
18 U.S.C. § 372	Conspiracy to impede or injure officer
18 U.S.C. § 924	Penalties for firearms violations
18 U.S.C. § 1962	Racketeering
18 U.S.C. § 2118(d)	Robberies involving controlled substances

Source: PS 5162.07 at p. 7.

Section 4 — The four Director’s-discretion factors

This is the test that governs everything in Section 4. “Based on the Director’s discretion, an inmate currently serving a sentence for a felony offense that contains at least one of the following factors is precluded from receiving certain Bureau program benefits:

• The current offense has an element of the actual, attempted, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another;
• The current offense involved the carrying, possession, or use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon or explosives (including any explosive material or explosive device);
• The current offense presents a serious potential risk of physical force against the person or property of another by its nature or conduct; or
• The current offense involves sexual abuse offenses committed against children by its nature or conduct.”

Source: PS 5162.07 at p. 8.

Those four factors are not the Bureau’s invention. They track, nearly word for word, the four categories in 28 C.F.R. § 550.55(b)(5), the regulation that excludes from § 3621(e) early release inmates with a current felony conviction for “(i) An offense that has as an element, the actual, attempted, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another; (ii) An offense that involved the carrying, possession, or use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon or explosives …; (iii) An offense that, by its nature or conduct, presents a serious potential risk of physical force against the person or property of another; or (iv) An offense that, by its nature or conduct, involves sexual abuse offenses committed upon minors.” The regulation is the rule; the Program Statement’s Section 4 is the Bureau’s list of the statutes it thinks satisfy that rule.

The Program Statement also directs staff to say which basis they are using: “if an inmate is convicted of an offense listed in this section, the inmate shall be denied a program benefit because they committed an offense identified at the Director’s discretion, rather than a crime of violence” (PS 5162.07 at p. 8). That distinction should appear in the paperwork.

Section 4.a — Offenses with an enhanced base offense level

These offenses require staff to examine the base offense level in the PSR’s Offense Computation section. “At the Director’s discretion, inmates with current offenses listed below require review of base offense levels and may be precluded from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.”

Statute	Description
18 U.S.C. § 241	Conspiracy against rights (for other than conspiracy)
18 U.S.C. § 242	Deprivation of rights under color of law
18 U.S.C. § 592	Putting troops at polls
18 U.S.C. § 593	Interference by armed forces
18 U.S.C. § 1791	Possessing contraband in prison
18 U.S.C. § 2231(a)	Assault on persons executing search warrant
18 U.S.C. § 2381	Treason

Source: PS 5162.07 at pp. 8–9.

Section 4.b — Offenses with a Specific Offense Characteristic (SOC) enhancement

“Below is a list of offenses for which there could be an SOC enhancement for the use of force.”

Statute	Description
16 U.S.C. § 773e(1)(B), (C), (D), (F)	Violation of Northern Pacific Halibut Act
16 U.S.C. § 773g	Violation of Northern Pacific Halibut Act
16 U.S.C. § 1857(1)(D), (E), (F), (H)	Violation of National Fishery Management Program
16 U.S.C. § 1859	Violation of National Fishery Management Program
16 U.S.C. § 2435(4), (5), (6), (7)	Violation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention
16 U.S.C. § 2438	Violation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention
16 U.S.C. § 3606	Violation of North Atlantic Salmon Fishing
16 U.S.C. § 3637(a)(2), (3), (4), (6)	Violation of Pacific Salmon Fishing
16 U.S.C. § 5009(5), (6), (7), (8)	Violation of North Pacific Anadromous Stock Convention
18 U.S.C. § 755	Officer permitting escape
18 U.S.C. § 757	Procuring escape for prisoner of war
18 U.S.C. § 874	Kickbacks from public works employees
18 U.S.C. § 894	Extending credit through extortionate means
18 U.S.C. § 1163	Embezzlement/theft from Indian organizations
18 U.S.C. § 1503	Influencing or injuring officer or juror
18 U.S.C. § 1505	Obstruction of proceedings before departments or agencies
18 U.S.C. § 1511	Obstruction of state or local law enforcement
18 U.S.C. § 1516	Obstruction of a federal audit
18 U.S.C. § 1517	Obstructing financial examination
18 U.S.C. § 1951	Interference with commerce by threats/violence
18 U.S.C. § 2112	Robbery of personal property of United States
21 U.S.C. § 841	Controlled substance violation (other than (e))
21 U.S.C. § 846	Attempt and conspiracy
26 U.S.C. § 7212	Attempt to interfere with revenue laws
26 U.S.C. § 7214	Unlawful acts by employees of the IRS
30 U.S.C. § 1461(4), (5)	Resisting officers for violations under Deep Seabed Mineral Resources Act
30 U.S.C. § 1463	Violations of Deep Seabed Mineral Resources Act
40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(1)	Security of Capitol grounds and buildings
42 U.S.C. § 2283(b)	Protection of nuclear inspectors
42 U.S.C. § 9151(2), (3), (4), (5)	Violation of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act
42 U.S.C. § 9152(d)	Violation of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act
46 U.S.C. § 70503	Manufacture, distribution, or possession with intent to manufacture controlled substances
49 U.S.C. § 46505(b)	Carrying a weapon on an aircraft
52 U.S.C. § 10501	Application of prohibition to other States
52 U.S.C. § 10502	Residence requirements for voting
52 U.S.C. § 10503	Bilingual election requirements
52 U.S.C. § 10505	Penalty
52 U.S.C. § 10701	Enforcement of twenty-sixth amendment
52 U.S.C. § 20511	Criminal penalties

Source: PS 5162.07 at pp. 9–11.

This is the section that catches the ordinary federal drug case. The Program Statement’s own worked example: “an inmate who was convicted of violating 21 U.S.C. § 841 and received a two-level SOC enhancement for possession of a firearm has been convicted of an offense that will preclude the inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits” (PS 5162.07 at p. 9). A § 841 conviction with a two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1) is, on the Bureau’s reading, a firearm offense for these purposes even though no firearm count was ever charged.

Section 4.c — Offenses that may preclude benefits based on a variety of factors

For these, “staff must examine the entire Offense Computation section of the PSR and, if necessary, the Offense Conduct section.”

Statute	Description
7 U.S.C. § 473c-1	Offenses in relation to sampling of cotton
16 U.S.C. § 5106(e)(5), (6), (7), (9), (f)(2)	Violation of Atlantic Coast Fisheries Cooperative Management
18 U.S.C. § 13	Laws of states adopted for areas within federal jurisdiction
18 U.S.C. § 700	Desecration of the flag of the United States
18 U.S.C. § 751	Escape from federal prison
18 U.S.C. § 752	Instigating/assisting escape from federal prison
18 U.S.C. § 831	Prohibited acts involving nuclear materials
18 U.S.C. § 876	Mailing threatening communications
18 U.S.C. § 877	Mailing threatening communications from foreign country
18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)	Engage in business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms or ammunition
18 U.S.C. § 1112	Manslaughter (voluntary only)
18 U.S.C. § 1153	Offenses within Indian Country
18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)	Tampering with a witness/victim/informant
18 U.S.C. § 1708	Theft or receipt of stolen mail
18 U.S.C. § 1792	Mutiny and riot in prison
18 U.S.C. § 1952	Transporting items in aid of racketeering
18 U.S.C. § 1956	Money laundering
18 U.S.C. § 1962	Racketeering
18 U.S.C. § 2117	Breaking into carrier facilities
18 U.S.C. § 2152	Destruction of submarine and torpedo works
18 U.S.C. § 2153	Destruction of war materials
18 U.S.C. § 2154	Production of defective war material
18 U.S.C. § 2155	Destruction of national defense materials
18 U.S.C. § 2156	Production of defective national defense material
18 U.S.C. § 2192	Incitation of seamen to revolt
18 U.S.C. § 2193	Mutiny
18 U.S.C. § 2247	Repeat offenders
18 U.S.C. § 2261A	Stalking
18 U.S.C. § 2387	Activities involving armed forces
40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(1), (2)	Security of Capitol grounds and buildings

Source: PS 5162.07 at pp. 11–12.

Section 4.d — Conspiracy, attempt and other offenses involving an underlying offense

“If the underlying offense would preclude the inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits based on any of the other portions of Section 4 of this program statement, the conspiracy or the attempt offense precludes the inmate from receiving the same benefits.”

Statute	Description
18 U.S.C. § 241	Conspiracy to deprive civil rights (if conspiracy)
18 U.S.C. § 371	Conspiracy to commit offense/fraud
18 U.S.C. § 372	Conspiracy to impede or injure officer
18 U.S.C. § 924	Penalties for firearms violations
18 U.S.C. § 2118(d)	Robberies involving controlled substances
21 U.S.C. § 846	Attempt and conspiracy
21 U.S.C. § 848	Controlled substances violations as criminal enterprise
21 U.S.C. § 963	Conspiracy or attempt to violate controlled substance laws

Source: PS 5162.07 at pp. 12–13.

The Program Statement’s worked example for this section is the one most drug clients need to read. A judgment showing a conviction under 21 U.S.C. § 846 tells staff nothing on its own; they must look to the PSR for the underlying offense. “If the PSR indicates the defendant received a two-level increase for possessing a dangerous weapon, then the offense should preclude the inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits. If no such enhancement was given, the offense should not preclude the inmate from receiving such benefits” (PS 5162.07 at p. 12).

Section 4.e — Special circumstances

Statute	What the Program Statement says
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)	“All offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) shall preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.”
18 U.S.C. § 2113(a)	“Excluding bank robbery (see Section 3.b. above), other offenses covered by 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), (for example, bank larceny), will be reviewed similarly to offenses in Section 4.b” — that is, by looking for an SOC enhancement. The enhancements named are: a firearm was discharged; a firearm or other dangerous weapon was brandished, displayed, possessed, or used; or an express or implied threat of death was made (U.S.S.G. § 2B3.2(b), Application Notes 2 and 6).
18 U.S.C. § 2243	“A conviction for sexual abuse of a minor or ward shall preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.”
18 U.S.C. § 2339C	“A conviction for the financing of terrorism shall preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.” (Added in PS 5162.07.)
18 U.S.C. § 2339D	“A conviction for receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization shall preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.” (Added in PS 5162.07.)

Source: PS 5162.07 at p. 13.

Section 5 — Offenses committed before November 1, 1987 (“old law”)

Because the Sentencing Guidelines generally do not apply to pre-November 1, 1987 offenses, there is no base offense level or SOC to examine. For Section 4 offenses and offenses similar to them committed before that date, “staff must make a determination, based on the narrative description of the crime contained in the PSR, whether the offense involved:

• the use, attempted use, or threatened use of force;
• the use, carrying, or possession of a dangerous weapon;
• a serious potential risk that force might be used against the person or property of another; or sexual abuse committed against children.”

Offenses listed in Section 3, or similar to them, that were committed before that date “will be treated in the same manner as ‘new law’ offenses” (PS 5162.07 at p. 14).

What offense categorization means for you

If you are the person inside: checking your statute of conviction

Find your statute of conviction on the judgment — the actual U.S. Code section and subsection, not the description — and then look for it in the tables above. Three outcomes are possible, and they lead to different conversations. If it is in Section 3.a, the Bureau treats a felony conviction under it as a crime of violence in every case. If it is in Section 4.a, 4.b or 4.c, the listing does not decide anything by itself: staff are directed to go to the “Offense Computation” section of your Presentence Investigation Report and look at the base offense level or the Specific Offense Characteristic enhancements. And if it is nowhere on any list, the Program Statement directs staff to contact the Office of General Counsel’s Legislative and Correctional Issues Branch rather than to improvise (PS 5162.07 at p. 2).

That middle case is where most people actually live, and it means the document that decides your program eligibility is often the PSR, not the judgment. Get a copy and read the Offense Computation paragraphs. If your PSR does not explain why a particular base offense level was assigned, the Program Statement tells staff they “may need to examine the particular Sentencing Guideline referenced” (PS 5162.07 at p. 8) — which means an ambiguous PSR can cut either way.

One caution that matters more than anything else on this page: nothing here tells you that you qualify for early release, a furlough, or any other benefit. The lists tell you how the Bureau categorizes a statute. Eligibility is a determination the Bureau makes on the whole file, under 28 C.F.R. § 550.55, and the statute itself, 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e)(2)(B), says the period “may be reduced by the Bureau of Prisons” — permissive, not mandatory.

If you are a family member: getting the paperwork straight

The most useful thing you can do is get the paperwork straight, because the answer usually turns on documents rather than on argument. Three documents control: the Judgment and Commitment Order, which gives the statute of conviction; the Presentence Investigation Report, specifically the Offense Computation section; and the Statement of Reasons, which the Program Statement notes is where “the court makes a finding … to document whether an offense listed below involved the use of force” (PS 5162.07 at p. 8). Defense counsel from the underlying case will usually have all three.

Be careful with two common misunderstandings. First, “nonviolent offense” in the statute does not mean what it means in ordinary speech — the Supreme Court has upheld the Bureau’s authority to categorically exclude people whose offense of conviction is nonviolent but whose conduct involved a firearm. Lopez v. Davis, 531 U.S. 230 (2001). Second, this Program Statement is not limited to RDAP early release. Its own purpose section lists several policies it feeds, including furloughs, compassionate release, First Step Act time credits, and release notification requirements. A categorization made here can show up in more than one place.

If you are counsel: offense categorization

The leverage in this document is almost entirely at sentencing, and it runs through the PSR. Sections 4.a and 4.b turn on the base offense level and on Specific Offense Characteristic enhancements — the Bureau’s example is the two-level dangerous-weapon enhancement on a § 841 count. An unlitigated or ambiguously resolved SOC objection converts, years later, into a categorical program exclusion that no one at the institution has authority to revisit on the merits. The Statement of Reasons is the place to make the record clean, because the Program Statement tells staff to look there.

On the administrative side, the governing authority is the regulation, not the Program Statement. 28 C.F.R. § 550.55(b) sets out seven categories the Director has excluded from § 3621(e) early release as an exercise of discretion, including prior convictions within ten years for homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, kidnaping or offenses involving sexual abuse of minors, and current felony convictions in the four categories tracked by Section 4 of this Program Statement. An argument that the Bureau misapplied § 550.55 is materially stronger than an argument that it misapplied PS 5162.07.

Lopez v. Davis, 531 U.S. 230 (2001), is the governing Supreme Court decision, and it is worth reading for what it does and does not decide. It upheld the Bureau’s categorical firearm exclusion, then codified at 28 C.F.R. § 550.58(a)(1)(vi)(B) and now carried forward at § 550.55(b)(5)(ii), as “a permissible exercise of the Bureau’s discretion under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e)(2)(B).” It reasoned that Congress’s use of “may” in § 3621(e)(2)(B) contrasts with “shall” elsewhere in the same section, so that on successful completion of treatment “the Bureau thus has the authority, but not the duty, both to alter the prisoner’s conditions of confinement and to reduce his term of imprisonment.” And it rejected the argument that the agency must proceed case by case, holding that a decision-maker “has the authority to rely on rulemaking to resolve certain issues of general applicability unless Congress clearly expresses an intent to withhold that authority.”

What changed in PS 5162.06 and PS 5162.07

September 3, 2026. Program Statement 5162.07 rescinded PS 5162.06, Categorization of Offenses (3/19/2026), less than six months after it issued (PS 5162.07 at p. 1). Its Summary of Changes is one line: it “[u]pdates the list of statutory offenses.” Comparing the two texts, the lists in Sections 3 and 4.a through 4.d are unchanged. The change is in Section 4.e, which now names two more special circumstances that preclude certain program benefits: a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2339C “for the financing of terrorism,” and one under 18 U.S.C. § 2339D “for receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization” (PS 5162.07 at p. 13).

March 19, 2026. Program Statement 5162.06 rescinded Program Statement 5162.05, Categorization of Offenses, dated March 16, 2009 (PS 5162.06 at p. 1). That was a seventeen-year gap, and the Bureau’s Summary of Changes was two lines: the reissue “[u]pdates the list of statutory offenses” and “[m]odifies examples for clarity and accuracy.”

That terseness understates what happened. The lists in the current edition include offenses that did not exist or were not listed in 2009 — among them 18 U.S.C. § 249 (hate crime acts), § 1594(a) and (c) (attempt and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children), § 2332f (bombings of places of public use), and § 1531 — and the citation set for § 922 was substantially rewritten, now running through subsections (x)(1)(A), (x)(2)(A) and (z)(1). The Section 4.b list picked up 46 U.S.C. § 70503 and the title 52 voting-rights provisions, which reflect recodifications that happened after 2009. Because the Bureau’s own change summary does not enumerate additions and deletions, a person whose offense was categorized under the 2009 edition should not assume the categorization survived unchanged; the current list is the one staff apply.

There is a second change no summary mentions, and it is structural. The purpose section of the current edition lists the policies this document feeds, and that list now includes “First Step Act of 2018 – Time Credits: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)” (PS 5162.07 at p. 1). The First Step Act did not exist when PS 5162.05 issued. That is worth flagging carefully, because FSA time credit eligibility is governed by its own statutory exclusion list at 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(D), incorporated by 28 C.F.R. § 523.41(d) — a different and much longer list than the ones on this page. The categorization here informs Bureau decisions in that space; it does not replace the statutory list.

Finally, note what has not changed. 28 C.F.R. § 550.55 carries an effective date of December 29, 2016 and was not amended when this Program Statement reissued in March 2026. The regulation is older than the categorization list built under it, and where the two are read together, the regulation controls.

How courts have treated these exclusions

Two questions get run together here, and separating them is the difference between an argument that goes somewhere and one that does not. The first is whether the Bureau may exclude whole categories of people from early release rather than deciding case by case. That is settled, and the answer is yes. The second is whether a particular rule was validly issued. That one has been litigated, the Bureau lost it once, and it then fixed the problem.

The authority question is settled

In Lopez v. Davis, 531 U.S. 230 (2001), the Supreme Court held that the Bureau’s regulation “categorically den[ying] early release to prisoners whose current offense is a felony attended by ‘the carrying, possession, or use of a firearm'” was “a permissible exercise of the Bureau’s discretion under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e)(2)(B).” The Court read the statute’s permissive “may” against the mandatory “shall” used elsewhere in the same section and concluded that on successful completion of drug treatment the Bureau “has the authority, but not the duty,” to reduce a sentence. It also rejected the argument that the agency had to proceed case by case, holding that the Bureau “need not blind itself to preconviction conduct that the agency reasonably views as jeopardizing life and limb.”

One detail matters for anyone reading Lopez today: the regulation before the Court was 28 C.F.R. § 550.58, not the § 550.55 that governs now. The holding is about the Bureau’s authority, and that authority carried forward. The rule itself did not.

The rule the Bureau lost

In Arrington v. Daniels, 516 F.3d 1106 (9th Cir. 2008), the Ninth Circuit struck down the 2000 version of the firearm exclusion — not because the Bureau lacked power to adopt it, but because the Bureau never said why it had. The court held that the agency “failed to set forth a rationale for its decision to categorically exclude prisoners convicted of offenses involving the carrying, possession, or use of firearms,” and that “[t]his failure renders the Bureau’s final rule invalid under the APA.”

Arrington is careful about what Lopez did and did not decide: “the inquiry in Lopez was limited to whether the Bureau had discretion to narrow the class of prisoners eligible for early release under § 3621(e). In deciding this question in the affirmative, the Court did not consider an APA challenge to the validity of the Bureau’s 1997 interim rule.” The principle drawn from that distinction is the useful one: “A rule may ultimately be reasonable in substance … but nevertheless fail APA review if the agency does not comply with its procedural responsibility to articulate in the administrative record the rational basis upon which it relied in promulgating the rule.”

The court also refused to let the Bureau supply the missing reasoning in litigation, noting that “[p]ost hoc explanations of agency action by appellate counsel cannot substitute for the agency’s own articulation of the basis for its decision,” and it rejected the Bureau’s fallback that it wanted uniformity — because uniformity “could have been accomplished in any number of ways,” including by categorically including these prisoners.

And the rule that replaced it

The Bureau responded with a new final rule in January 2009 — the § 550.55 in force today — and this time put its reasoning in the record. In Peck v. Thomas, 682 F.3d 1201 (9th Cir. 2012), the same circuit that decided Arrington held the fix worked: “The defect identified in Arrington — a failure to articulate any supporting rationale in the administrative record — has been cured here.” The Bureau had stated that “in the correctional experience of the Bureau, the offense conduct of both armed offenders and certain recidivists suggests that they pose a particular risk to the public,” and that “[t]here is a significant potential for violence from criminals who carry, possess or use firearms” (74 Fed. Reg. at 1894–95, quoted in Peck). The court added: “Although the Bureau could have proffered a fuller explanation, the APA does not demand more.”

Peck also disposed of two arguments people still raise. The absence of any time limit on the prior convictions in § 550.55(b)(4) does not invalidate the rule. And there is no liberty interest in the reduction at all, because “denial merely means that the inmate will have to serve out his sentence as expected.”

So read Arrington for its reasoning, not as live authority on the current rule. Its holding concerned a regulation that no longer exists, and the Ninth Circuit itself has since upheld the successor. What survives is the standard: an agency has to explain itself in the record, at the time, and cannot backfill later.

When the Program Statement itself is wrong

Peck is worth knowing for a third holding, because it goes directly to the document on this page. The petitioners argued that the Bureau’s Program Statement mischaracterized 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) as a crime of violence, and that the error infected the regulation. The court did not dispute that the characterization was wrong. It held the argument failed anyway, because the petitioners “point to nothing in the administrative record indicating that the BOP relied on its categorization of § 922(g) as a ‘crime of violence’ when reaching its decision to adopt § 550.55(b)(5)(ii).”

That is the practical shape of the thing. A misclassification in a Program Statement is a reason to challenge how staff applied it. It is not, by itself, a reason the regulation falls — and the regulation is what binds the Bureau.

Which leaves one argument standing, and it is usually the right one: not that the Bureau cannot exclude categorically, and not that § 550.55 is invalid, but that this conviction does not actually fall within § 550.55(b)(5) on this record — on what the PSR and the Statement of Reasons say, and on which subsection the institution actually invoked. That is a documents argument, and it is won or lost on the paperwork.

Arrington v. Daniels should be cited for its APA reasoning rather than for its result, for the reason described above — it was superseded in effect by the 2009 rule and by Peck.

Where people get stuck when an offense is not listed

The offense is not on any list

The Program Statement anticipates this and gives an answer: staff “must contact the Office of General Counsel’s Legislative and Correctional Issues Branch for clarification” (PS 5162.07 at p. 2). If a benefit has been denied on the basis of an offense that does not appear in Sections 3 or 4, that instruction is the thing to name in writing. Start with an Inmate Request to Staff — form BP-A0148 — to the case manager or drug abuse program coordinator asking which section of PS 5162.07 the determination rests on. The Program Statement directs staff to “carefully describe the basis for the denial” (PS 5162.07 at p. 8), so an unexplained denial is itself a gap.

The determination rests on a PSR enhancement

This is the most common dispute and the hardest, because the Bureau is reading a document it did not write and cannot change. Where the PSR shows an SOC enhancement that was never actually imposed, or where the Statement of Reasons resolves the objection differently from the PSR narrative, the mismatch has to be shown with documents. The remedy for a genuinely inaccurate PSR is in the sentencing court, not at the institution — but a Statement of Reasons that contradicts the PSR is something the institution can and should be asked to consider. This is a point where a consult is more useful than a form, because the fix may lie in the criminal case rather than in the prison.

A prior conviction, not the current one, is the bar

People often search these lists, find nothing, and conclude they are eligible — missing that 28 C.F.R. § 550.55(b)(4) separately excludes inmates with a prior felony or misdemeanor conviction, within the ten years before sentencing on the current commitment, for homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, kidnaping, or an offense that by its nature or conduct involves sexual abuse offenses committed upon minors. That exclusion lives entirely in the regulation; PS 5162.07 does not list it, because it is not about categorizing federal statutes. Anyone checking eligibility needs to read the regulation as well as this document.

A denial with no stated basis

The formal route is the Administrative Remedy Program: informal resolution, then a BP-9 to the Warden within 20 calendar days of the date the basis for the request occurred, a BP-10 to the Regional Director within 20 calendar days of the Warden’s signed response, and a BP-11 to the General Counsel within 30 calendar days of the Regional Director’s response. If no response arrives within the time allowed, including any extension, the absence of a response may be treated as a denial at that level and appealed up. Frame the remedy around the regulation — § 550.55 — with the Program Statement as evidence of how the Bureau applied it, rather than the other way around.

Related BOP policy on offense categorization

Page	What it covers
The Residential Drug Abuse Program	Paired page: how RDAP works, from application through completion
Offenses that preclude early release	Paired page: eligibility disputes and what can be done about a determination
RDAP and federal prison	The early release question in practice
RDAP early release procedures (PS 5331.02)	The § 3621(e) procedures this categorization feeds
Psychology treatment programs / RDAP (PS 5330.11)	Program admission and completion
First Step Act time credits (PS 5410.01)	The separate statutory exclusion list at 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(D)
Security designation and custody classification (PS 5100.08)	Where offense severity becomes designation points
Furloughs (PS 5280.09)	Another benefit this categorization feeds
Compassionate release / reduction in sentence (PS 5050.51)	Named in this Program Statement’s purpose section
Administrative Remedy Program (PS 1330.18)	The BP-9 / BP-10 / BP-11 route

Frequently Asked Questions About Offense Categorization

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Program Statement 5162.07 — full text

What follows is the Bureau’s own text, reproduced in full from its published PDF rather than paraphrased. The official version is Program Statement 5162.07 (PDF), published by the Bureau of Prisons.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Federal Bureau of Prisons

PROGRAM STATEMENT Categorization of Offenses

Approved by

William K. Marshall III Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons DPI OGC Number 5162.07 Date September 3, 2026

Summary of Changes Program Statement Rescinded:

• 5162.06 Categorization of Offenses (3/19/2026) Changes:
• Updates the list of statutory offenses.

1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

To assist in the implementation of various Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) policies and programs (e.g., Program Statements Notification Requirements Upon Release of Sex Offenders, Violent Offenders, and Drug Traffickers; Compassionate Release/Reduction in Sentence: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 3582 and 4205(g); Early Release Procedures Under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e); First Step Act of 2018 – Time Credits: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4); Inmate Furloughs; and Correctional Services Procedures Manual). Section 3 of this program statement lists offenses the Bureau categorizes as “crimes of violence” as that term is used in various statutes. In addition, Section 4 lists offenses that in the Bureau Director’s discretion preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.

a. Program Objective.

Consistent with statutory law and federal regulations, certain program benefits, such as eligibility for a furlough or early release under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e), are not appropriate for inmates who have committed a crime of violence or offenses the Bureau’s Director has identified to preclude eligibility for those benefits.

b. Institution Supplement. None.

2. APPLICATION

Criminal offenses defined throughout the United States Code (U.S.C.) that constitute crimes of violence preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits and are listed in Section 3 of this Program Statement. Section 4 of this program statement lists offenses not categorized as crimes of violence that would still preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits at the Director’s discretion.

If staff believe an inmate’s crime might preclude them from receiving certain Bureau program benefits but it is not listed in this program statement, they must contact the Office of General Counsel’s Legislative and Correctional Issues Branch for clarification.

Some of the U.S.C. sections may be listed in more than one section below; such duplication is indicated by an asterisk. In these cases, staff are to check subsequent sections of the program statement to determine whether the offense is a crime of violence or an offense that would otherwise preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.

3. OFFENSES CATEGORIZED AS CRIMES OF VIOLENCE

a. Criminal offenses are crimes of violence in all cases.

Any felony conviction for an offense listed below is categorized as a crime of violence.

18 U.S.C. § 32 Destruction of aircraft 18 U.S.C. § 33 Destruction of motor vehicles or motor vehicle facilities 18 U.S.C. § 34 Penalty when death results 18 U.S.C. § 35(b) Conveying false information that harms human life 18 U.S.C. § 36 Firing weapons into group of persons (VCCLEA addition) 18 U.S.C. § 37 Violence at international airports (VCCLEA addition) 18 U.S.C. § 43 Force, violence, and threats involving animal enterprises 18 U.S.C. § 81 Arson w/in maritime jurisdiction 18 U.S.C. § 111 Assaulting officers of the United States 18 U.S.C. § 112(a) Assaulting foreign officials 18 U.S.C. § 113 Assaults w/in maritime jurisdictions 18 U.S.C. § 114 Maiming w/in maritime jurisdiction 18 U.S.C. § 115 Threatening family member of a federal official 18 U.S.C. § 116 Female genital mutilation 18 U.S.C. § 117 Domestic assault by an habitual offender 18 U.S.C. § 175 Biological weapons

18 U.S.C. § 229 Prohibited activities (chemical weapons) 18 U.S.C. § 231 Civil disorders 18 U.S.C. § 245 Federally protected activities 18 U.S.C. § 247 Damage to religious property; obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs 18 U.S.C. § 248 Freedom of access to clinic entrances 18 U.S.C. § 249 Hate crime acts 18 U.S.C. § 351 Assassination of cabinet and congress members 18 U.S.C. § 373 Soliciting to commit a violent act 18 U.S.C. § 521(c)(2) Criminal street gangs 18 U.S.C. § 594 Intimidation of voters (includes misdemeanor conviction) 18 U.S.C. § 753 Rescue of an inmate to prevent execution 18 U.S.C. § 832 Participation in nuclear and weapons of mass destruction threats to the United States 18 U.S.C. § 842 Explosive materials 18 U.S.C. § 844 Penalties 18 U.S.C. § 871 Threats against the President 18 U.S.C. § 875(a)(b)(c) Interstate communications 18 U.S.C. § 878 Threats against foreign officials 18 U.S.C. § 879 Threats against former presidents 18 U.S.C. § 922 (a)(2), Firearms violations (a)(3),(a)(4), (a)(5),(a)(7), (a)(8),(a)(9), (b)(2),(b)(3), (b)(4),(b)(5), (c),(d)(1), (d)(2),(d)(4), (d)(8),(d)(9), (k),(n), (o),(p),(q)(2), (q)(3),(r), (s)(1),(t)(1), (u),(x)(1)(A), (x)(2)(A), & (z)(1) 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) Firearms used in violent or drug trafficking crimes 18 U.S.C. § 924(j) Murder in the course of carrying, using, and discharging a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime 18 U.S.C. § 929 Use of restricted ammunition 18 U.S.C. § 930(a)(b)(c), Possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in Federal facilities (felony only) 18 U.S.C. § 956 Conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons or damage property in a foreign country 18 U.S.C. § 970(a) Damage of property owned by foreign governments 18 U.S.C. § 1091 Genocide 18 U.S.C. § 1111 Murder 18 U.S.C. § 1112 Manslaughter (voluntary only) 18 U.S.C. § 1113 Attempt to commit murder or manslaughter 18 U.S.C. § 1114 Murder of officers

18 U.S.C. § 1116 Murder of foreign officials 18 U.S.C. § 1117 Conspiracy to murder 18 U.S.C. § 1118 Murder in correctional institution (VCCLEA addition) 18 U.S.C. § 1119 Foreign murder of US national (VCCLEA addition) 18 U.S.C. § 1120 Murder by escaped prisoner (VCCLEA addition) 18 U.S.C. § 1121 Murder of state or local officer (VCCLEA addition) 18 U.S.C. § 1201 Kidnapping 18 U.S.C. § 1203 Hostage taking 18 U.S.C. § 1204 International parental kidnapping 18 U.S.C. § 1363 Buildings or property within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction 18 U.S.C. § 1364 Interference with foreign commerce by violence 18 U.S.C. § 1365 Tampering with consumer products except 1365(b),(c) 18 U.S.C. § 1366 Destruction of an energy facility 18 U.S.C. § 1368 Harming animals used in law enforcement 18 U.S.C. § 1369 Destruction of veterans’ memorials 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a) Killing witness or victim 18 U.S.C. § 1513 Retaliation against witness or victim 18 U.S.C. § 1531 Partial-birth abortions prohibited 18 U.S.C. § 1581 Peonage 18 U.S.C. § 1583 Enticement into slavery 18 U.S.C. § 1584 Sale into servitude 18 U.S.C. § 1585 Slave trading 18 U.S.C. § 1587 Possession of slaves aboard a vessel 18 U.S.C. § 1588 Transporting slaves 18 U.S.C. § 1589(a)(1)(2) Forced labor 18 U.S.C. § 1590(a) Trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, or forced labor 18 U.S.C. § 1591 Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or coercion 18 U.S.C. § 1594(a) Attempt to commit sex trafficking of minors 18 U.S.C. § 1594(c) Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children 18 U.S.C. § 1651 Piracy 18 U.S.C. § 1652 Citizens as pirates 18 U.S.C. § 1653 Aliens as pirates 18 U.S.C. § 1655 Assault on commander as pirates 18 U.S.C. § 1659 Attack to plunder a vessel 18 U.S.C. § 1661 Robbery ashore 18 U.S.C. § 1751 Assassination of president or staff 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(5) Restricted building or grounds 18 U.S.C. § 1792 Mutiny or riot 18 U.S.C. § 1841 Protection of unborn children 18 U.S.C. § 1855 Timber set afire

18 U.S.C. § 1859 Surveys interrupted 18 U.S.C. § 1864 Hazardous devices on federal lands 18 U.S.C. § 1958 Use of interstate commerce in murder for hire 18 U.S.C. § 1959 Violent crimes aiding racketeering 18 U.S.C. § 1991 Entering train to commit crime 18 U.S.C. § 1992 Wrecking trains 18 U.S.C. § 2101 Riots 18 U.S.C. § 2111 Special maritime jurisdiction 18 U.S.C. § 2113(d), (e) Bank robbery and incidental crimes 18 U.S.C. § 2114 Assault of person carrying mail 18 U.S.C. § 2115 Breaking into post office 18 U.S.C. § 2116 Railway or steamboat post office 18 U.S.C. § 2118(a), Robberies and burglaries involving controlled substances (b),(c) 18 U.S.C. § 2119 Crimes involving motor vehicles 18 U.S.C. § 2191 Cruelty to seamen 18 U.S.C. § 2231(b) Assault or resistance 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a) Destruction of property to prevent seizure 18 U.S.C. § 2233 Rescue of seized property 18 U.S.C. § 2241 Aggravated sexual abuse 18 U.S.C. § 2242 Sexual abuse 18 U.S.C. § 2243(a) Sexual abuse of a minor or ward 18 U.S.C. § 2244(a),(c) Abusive sexual contact 18 U.S.C. § 2245 Sexual abuse resulting in death (VCCLEA addition) 18 U.S.C. § 2251 Sexual exploitation of children 18 U.S.C. § 2251A Selling or buying of children 18 U.S.C. § 2260(a) Production of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation into the United States 18 U.S.C. § 2261 Interstate domestic violence (VCCLEA addition) 18 U.S.C. § 2271 Conspiracy to destroy vessels 18 U.S.C. § 2272 Destruction of vessel by owner 18 U.S.C. § 2273 Destruction of vessel by nonowner 18 U.S.C. § 2275 Firing or tampering with vessels 18 U.S.C. § 2276 Breaking and entering vessels 18 U.S.C. § 2277(a) Explosives or dangerous weapons aboard vessels 18 U.S.C. § 2280 Violence against maritime navigation (VCCLEA addition) 18 U.S.C. § 2281 Violence against fixed platforms (VCCLEA addition) (other than subsection (A)) 18 U.S.C. § 2283 Transportation of explosive, biological, chemical, or radioactive or nuclear materials 18 U.S.C. § 2284 Transportation of terrorists 18 U.S.C. § 2291 Destruction of vessel or maritime facility (other than subsections

(a)(8)-(9)) 18 U.S.C. § 2332 Penalties for homicide 18 U.S.C. § 2332a Use of weapons of mass destruction (VCCLEA addition) 18 U.S.C. § 2332b Acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries 18 U.S.C. § 2332f Bombings of place of public use, government facilities, public transportation systems and infrastructure facilities 18 U.S.C. § 2339 Harboring or concealing terrorists 18 U.S.C. § 2339A Providing material support to terrorists 18 U.S.C. § 2339B Providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations 18 U.S.C. § 2340A Torture 18 U.S.C. § 2383 Rebellion or insurrection 18 U.S.C. § 2384 Sedition conspiracy 18 U.S.C. § 2385 Advocating the overthrow of the government 18 U.S.C. § 2389 Recruiting for service against U.S. 18 U.S.C. § 2390 Enlistment to serve against U.S. 18 U.S.C. § 2421 Transportation for illegal sexual activity 18 U.S.C. § 2422 Coercion into interstate travel for illegal sexual activity 18 U.S.C. § 2423 Transportation of minors for illegal sexual activity 18 U.S.C. § 2425 Use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor 21 U.S.C. § 841(d) Boobytraps on Federal property 21 U.S.C. § 848(e) Death penalty for criminal offenses 21 U.S.C. § 858 Endangering human life while manufacturing controlled substances 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(a)-(l) Firearms 42 U.S.C. § 2000(e)(13) Killing of officer while enforcing Equal Employment Act 42 U.S.C. § 2283(a) Protection of nuclear inspectors 42 U.S.C. § 2284(a) Sabotage of nuclear facilities 42 U.S.C. § 3631 Interference with housing 49 U.S.C. § 46502 Aircraft piracy 49 U.S.C. § 46504 Interference with flight crew members 49 U.S.C. § 46505 Carrying a weapon or explosive on an aircraft 49 U.S.C. § 46507 False information and threats

b. Bank robbery and incidental crimes.

Title 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) provides in part:

Whoever, by force and violence, or by intimidation, takes, or attempts to take, from the person or presence of another, or obtains or attempts to obtain by extortion any property or money or any other thing of value belonging to, or in the care, custody, control, management, or possession of, any bank, credit union, or any savings and loan association;

***

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

This statute covers various offenses, including bank robbery but also embezzling bank funds, stealing bank property, and bank larceny.

Regarding the specific crime of bank robbery, the offense is considered to be a crime of violence because it involves the threatened use of force. For offenses pursuant to § 2113(a) other than bank robbery, see Section 4.e. in this program statement.

c. Conspiracy, attempt, and similar offenses that involve an underlying offense.

The statutes listed in this section cover conspiracy offenses (e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 371) when an individual has planned with others to commit a particular crime. Other listed statutes cover attempted offenses where an individual tried but did not succeed in committing the crime. In reviewing these types of offenses, it is necessary to examine what the inmate was conspiring to do or attempting to do: the “underlying offense.” If the underlying offense is categorized as violent in Section 3.a. or is listed in Section 3.b. of this program statement, then the attempt or the conspiracy to commit the offense is also violent. The underlying offense will be included in the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) and may be noted on the Judgment and Commitment (J&C) Order.

Other statutes listed in this section do not criminalize behavior but set out penalties that result from violating other statutes. To determine whether the inmate’s current offense is violent, staff must assess whether the underlying offense is violent in accordance with Section 3.a. of this program statement. For example, 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(B) imposes penalties for violations of various subsections of 18 U.S.C. § 922. The J&C may indicate the sentence was imposed pursuant to the penalty provisions of Section 924(a)(1)(B) without indicating the conviction for the underlying offense. The PSR, however, notes the underlying conviction to be “Transporting a Destructive Device in Interstate Commerce,” in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(4). When the underlying offense is violent, such as in this example, the inmate should be deemed violent.

The following offenses may be violent depending on the underlying offense:

18 U.S.C. § 2 Aiding and abetting 18 U.S.C. § 241 Conspiracy against rights 18 U.S.C. § 371 Conspiracy to commit offense/fraud against U.S. 18 U.S.C. § 372 Conspiracy to impede or injure officer 18 U.S.C. § 924 Penalties for firearms violations 18 U.S.C. § 1962 Racketeering

18 U.S.C. § 2118(d) Robberies involving controlled substances

4. OFFENSES THAT AT THE DIRECTOR’S DISCRETION PRECLUDE AN INMATE

FROM RECEIVING CERTAIN BUREAU PROGRAM BENEFITS

For certain Bureau programs, an inmate may be denied program benefits if they were convicted of an offense listed in either this section or Section 3 of this program statement. If an inmate is denied the benefit of such a program, staff must carefully describe the basis for the denial. For example, if an inmate is convicted of an offense listed in this section, the inmate shall be denied a program benefit because they committed an offense identified at the Director’s discretion, rather than a crime of violence.

Based on the Director’s discretion, an inmate currently serving a sentence for a felony offense that contains at least one of the following factors is precluded from receiving certain Bureau program benefits:

• The current offense has an element of the actual, attempted, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another;
• The current offense involved the carrying, possession, or use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon or explosives (including any explosive material or explosive device);
• The current offense presents a serious potential risk of physical force against the person or property of another by its nature or conduct; or
• The current offense involves sexual abuse offenses committed against children by its nature or conduct.

a. Criminal offenses with an enhanced base offense level.

Convictions for an offense listed below may or may not satisfy the standard listed in the introductory portion of Section 4 of this program statement. At the time of sentencing, the court makes a finding in its Statement of Reasons to document whether an offense listed below involved the use of force, as reflected in the PSR section entitled “Offense Computation.” For example, 18 U.S.C. § 241 prohibits “ two or more persons conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person… in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege…” This crime may or may not be committed through the use of force or threatened use of force, since one can be oppressed through means other than force. Pursuant to U.S. Sentencing Guideline Section § 2H2.1, the base offense level will either be 18 if the offense behavior included use of force or threat of force against persons or property, but the base offense level will be 12 if the conduct did not involve the use or threatened use of force.

If an offender was convicted of an offense listed below, staff must examine the base offense level to determine whether the offense would preclude the inmate from receiving certain Bureau

program benefits. If the PSR does not include an explanation as to the reason for assigning a specific base offense level, staff may need to examine the particular Sentencing Guideline referenced.

Some of the offenses listed below may correspond to more than one Sentencing Guideline, only one of which includes a base level adjustment for the use or threatened use of force. Accordingly, it is possible that an examination of the Offense Computation section of the PSR may reveal no mention of the use or threatened use of force. When the PSR fails to explain the reason for assigning a particular base offense level, staff must examine the particular Sentencing Guideline referenced to determine whether the court found that the use of force was implicated in the offense.

Staff may contact the Office of General Counsel, Legislative and Correctional Issues Branch if they have questions regarding this section of this program statement. At the Director’s discretion, inmates with current offenses listed below require review of base offense levels and may be precluded from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.

18 U.S.C. § 241 Conspiracy against rights (for other than conspiracy) 18 U.S.C. § 242 Deprivation of rights under color of law 18 U.S.C. § 592 Putting troops at polls 18 U.S.C. § 593 Interference by armed forces 18 U.S.C. § 1791 Possessing contraband in prison 18 U.S.C. § 2231(a) Assault on persons executing search warrant 18 U.S.C. § 2381 Treason

b. Criminal offenses with a Specific Offense Characteristic (SOC) enhancement.

Convictions for an offense listed below, like those listed in Section 4.a., may or may not satisfy the standard listed in the introductory portion of Section 4 of this program statement.

At the time of sentencing, the court makes a finding of whether the offense involved the use or threatened use of force, and this finding is reflected in the PSR section entitled “Offense Computation.” This section references a particular Sentencing Guideline that provides for an increase in the Total Offense Level if the criminal violation was committed with force.

For example, 21 U.S.C. § 841 makes it a crime to manufacture, distribute, or possess with the intent to distribute drugs. If a dangerous weapon was possessed during commission of the offense, the court would increase the defendant’s base offense level by two levels. This particular SOC, possession of a dangerous weapon during the commission of a drug offense, poses a serious potential risk that force may be used against persons or property. As a result, an inmate who was convicted of violating 21 U.S.C. § 841 and received a two-level SOC enhancement for possession of a firearm has been convicted of an offense that will preclude the inmate from

receiving certain Bureau program benefits.

When the PSR is unclear whether force was used, staff must examine the particular Sentencing Guideline referenced to determine if the court found force was implicated in the offense. For example, a PSR states, “SOC 3C1.2, increase 2 levels.” If the PSR does not further affirm the offense involved the reckless risk of another’s death or serious bodily injury, staff may have to examine U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2, which reflects the only basis for this particular increase is a finding the offense included the risk of death or serious bodily injury while fleeing from law enforcement. The inmate would then be precluded from receiving certain Bureau program benefits referenced in this program statement.

Staff may contact Office of General Counsel, Legislative and Correctional Issues Branch if they have questions regarding this section of this program statement.

Below is a list of offenses for which there could be an SOC enhancement for the use of force:

16 U.S.C. § 773e(1)(B), Violation of Northern Pacific Halibut Act (C),(D),(F) 16 U.S.C. § 773g Violation of Northern Pacific Halibut Act 16 U.S.C. § 1857(1)(D), Violation of National Fishery Management Program (E),(F),(H) 16 U.S.C. § 1859 Violation of National Fishery Management Program 16 U.S.C. § 2435(4),(5), Violation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention (6),(7) 16 U.S.C. § 2438 Violation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention 16 U.S.C. § 3606 Violation of North Atlantic Salmon Fishing 16 U.S.C. § 3637(a)(2), Violation of Pacific Salmon Fishing (3),(4),(6) 16 U.S.C. § 5009(5),(6), Violation of North Pacific Anadromous Stock Convention (7),(8) 18 U.S.C. § 755 Officer permitting escape 18 U.S.C. § 757 Procuring escape for prisoner of war 18 U.S.C. § 874 Kickbacks from public works employees 18 U.S.C. § 894 Extending credit through extortionate means 18 U.S.C. § 1163 Embezzlement/theft from Indian organizations 18 U.S.C. § 1503 Influencing or injuring officer or juror 18 U.S.C. § 1505 Obstruction of proceedings before departments or agencies 18 U.S.C. § 1511 Obstruction of state or local law enforcement 18 U.S.C. § 1516 Obstruction of a federal audit 18 U.S.C. § 1517 Obstructing financial examination 18 U.S.C. § 1951 Interference with commerce by threats/violence

18 U.S.C. § 2112 Robbery of personal property of United States 21 U.S.C. § 841 Controlled substance violation (other than (e)) 21 U.S.C. § 846 Attempt and conspiracy 26 U.S.C. § 7212 Attempt to interfere with revenue laws 26 U.S.C. § 7214 Unlawful acts by employees of the IRS 30 U.S.C. § 1461(4),(5) Resisting officers for violations under Deep Seabed Mineral Resources Act 30 U.S.C. § 1463 Violations of Deep Seabed Mineral Resources Act 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(1) Security of Capitol grounds and buildings 42 U.S.C. § 2283(b) Protection of nuclear inspectors 42 U.S.C. § 9151(2),(3), Violation of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act (4),(5) 42 U.S.C. § 9152(d) Violation of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act 46 U.S.C. § 70503 Manufacture, distribution, or possession with intent to manufacture controlled substances 49 U.S.C. § 46505(b) Carrying a weapon on an aircraft 52 U.S.C. § 10501 Application of prohibition to other States 52 U.S.C. § 10502 Residence requirements for voting 52 U.S.C. § 10503 Bilingual election requirements 52 U.S.C. § 10505 Penalty 52 U.S.C. § 10701 Enforcement of twenty-sixth amendment 52 U.S.C. § 20511 Criminal penalties

c. Criminal offenses that may preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau

program benefits.

In addition to Sections 4.a. and 4.b. above, an inmate may be precluded from receiving certain Bureau program benefits based on an offense listed in this section. For the offenses listed below, the Sentencing Guidelines may provide little insight into the court’s findings. Rather than reviewing only the base offense level or SOCs, staff must examine the entire Offense Computation section of the PSR and, if necessary, the Offense Conduct section. If the offense satisfies the standard listed in the introductory portion of Section 4 of this program statement, the inmate is precluded from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.

The following offenses may preclude an inmate’s receiving certain Bureau program benefits based on a variety of factors:

7 U.S.C. § 473c-1 Offenses in relation to sampling of cotton 16 U.S.C. § 5106(e)(5), Violation of Atlantic Coast Fisheries Cooperative Management (6),(7),(9),(f)(2) 18 U.S.C. § 13 Laws of states adopted for areas within federal jurisdiction 18 U.S.C. § 700 Desecration of the flag of the United States

18 U.S.C. § 751 Escape from federal prison 18 U.S.C. § 752 Instigating/assisting escape from federal prison 18 U.S.C. § 831 Prohibited acts involving nuclear materials 18 U.S.C. § 876 Mailing threatening communications 18 U.S.C. § 877 Mailing threatening communications from foreign country 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1) Engage in business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms or ammunition 18 U.S.C. § 1112 Manslaughter (voluntary only) 18 U.S.C. § 1153 Offenses within Indian Country 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b) Tampering with a witness/victim/informant 18 U.S.C. § 1708 Theft or receipt of stolen mail 18 U.S.C. § 1792 Mutiny and riot in prison 18 U.S.C. § 1952 Transporting items in aid of racketeering 18 U.S.C. § 1956 Money laundering 18 U.S.C. § 1962 Racketeering 18 U.S.C. § 2117 Breaking into carrier facilities 18 U.S.C. § 2152 Destruction of submarine and torpedo works 18 U.S.C. § 2153 Destruction of war materials 18 U.S.C. § 2154 Production of defective war material 18 U.S.C. § 2155 Destruction of national defense materials 18 U.S.C. § 2156 Production of defective national defense material 18 U.S.C. § 2192 Incitation of seamen to revolt 18 U.S.C. § 2193 Mutiny 18 U.S.C. § 2247 Repeat offenders 18 U.S.C. § 2261A Stalking 18 U.S.C. § 2387 Activities involving armed forces 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(1),(2) Security of Capitol grounds and buildings

d. Conspiracy, Attempt, and other offenses that involve an underlying offense.

Some of the statutes listed in this section cover conspiracy offenses (e.g., 21 U.S.C. § 846) when an individual has planned with others to commit a particular crime. Other listed statutes cover attempted offenses (e.g., 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 963) when an individual tried but did not succeed in committing the crime. In reviewing these types of offenses, it is necessary to examine the “underlying offense,” i.e., what the defendant was conspiring to do or attempting to do. If the underlying offense would preclude the inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits based on any of the other portions of Section 4 of this program statement, the conspiracy or the attempt offense precludes the inmate from receiving the same benefits. The underlying offense will be included in the PSR and may be noted on the J&C.

For example, a J&C may indicate a conviction for Attempt and Conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. § 846. The accompanying PSR will reference the underlying crime, which in many cases will be

“Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance,” 21 U.S.C. § 841. Staff must review the underlying offense – in this example, possession of controlled substance – to determine whether it satisfies the standard listed in the introductory portion of Section 4 of this program statement. As noted in the example in Section 4.b, if the PSR indicates the defendant received a two-level increase for possessing a dangerous weapon, then the offense should preclude the inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits. If no such enhancement was given, the offense should not preclude the inmate from receiving such benefits.

18 U.S.C. § 241 Conspiracy to deprive civil rights (if conspiracy) 18 U.S.C. § 371 Conspiracy to commit offense/fraud 18 U.S.C. § 372 Conspiracy to impede or injure officer 18 U.S.C. § 924 Penalties for firearms violations 18 U.S.C. § 2118(d) Robberies involving controlled substances 21 U.S.C. § 846 attempt and conspiracy 21 U.S.C. § 848 Controlled substances violations as criminal enterprise 21 U.S.C. § 963 Conspiracy or attempt to violate controlled substance laws

e. Special Circumstances.

18 U.S.C. § 922(g). All offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) shall preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.

*18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). Excluding bank robbery (see Section 3.b. above), other offenses covered by 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), (for example, bank larceny), will be reviewed similarly to offenses in Section 4.b of this program statement. Defendants may receive an SOC enhancement that will result in an increase in the base offense level. Such enhancements provide for an increase in the defendant’s base offense level if:

• a firearm was discharged;
• a firearm or other dangerous weapon was brandished, displayed, possessed, or used; or
• an express or implied threat of death was made (U.S.S.G. § 2B3.2(b), Application Notes 2 and 6).

If a defendant received such an enhancement, or one of the other enhancements involving the use or threatened use of force, the offense precludes the inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.

18 U.S.C. § 2243. A conviction for sexual abuse of a minor or ward shall preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.

18 U.S.C. § 2339C. A conviction for the financing of terrorism shall preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.

18 U.S.C. § 2339D. A conviction for receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization shall preclude an inmate from receiving certain Bureau program benefits.

5. OFFENSES COMMITTED BEFORE NOVEMBER 1, 1987 (“OLD LAW”)

The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines are generally not applicable for “old law” offenses, which are those committed before November 1, 1987. Accordingly, for offenses identified in Section 4 or offenses similar to those listed in Section 4 of this program statement that were committed before this date, staff must make a determination, based on the narrative description of the crime contained in the PSR, whether the offense involved:

• the use, attempted use, or threatened use of force;
• the use, carrying, or possession of a dangerous weapon;
• a serious potential risk that force might be used against the person or property of another; or sexual abuse committed against children.

Offenses listed in Section 3, Crimes of Violence, or offenses similar to those listed in Section 3 of this program statement, which were committed before November 1, 1987, will be treated in the same manner as “new law” offenses.

REFERENCES

Program Statements Compassionate Release/Reduction in Sentence: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 3582 and 4205(g) Notification Requirements Upon Release of Sex Offenders, Violent Offenders, and Drug Traffickers Inmate Furloughs Early Release Procedures Under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e) First Step Act of 2018 – Time Credits: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4) Correctional Services Procedures Manual

ACA Standards Performance-Based Standards and Expected Practices for Adult Correctional Institutions (5th Edition): 5-ACI-3C-01, 5-ACI-3C-06 Performance-Based Standards and Expected Practices for Adult Local Detention Facilities (5th Edition): 5-ALDF-3A-01, 5-ALDF-6C-02

Records Retention Requirements Requirements and retention guidance for records and information applicable to this program are available in the Records and Information Disposition Schedule (RIDS) on the Bureau’s intranet site.

Reviewed for legal accuracy by Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., Principal Attorney·September 2026