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Federal Prison Inmate Headcount Declines for Third Straight Year

Declining prison populations may eventually help alleviate the effects of overcrowding. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) reported last month that during Fiscal Year 2016 — which closed at the end of September — the number of federal inmates in its facilities declined for the third consecutive year. The 192,170 inmates in BOP facilities as

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Federal Clemency Initiative Granting Relief At Slow Pace

The Obama administration’s “Clemency Initiative 2014,” a highly-touted program designed to grant clemency to nonviolent offenders and other federal prisoners, has yet to make a substantial impact on the exploding federal prison population. While some 16 percent of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ 218,000 prisoners have applied for clemency, less than three dozen prisoners have

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UK Justice Secretary calling for improved prison education

In a recent speech, newly-appointed UK Secretary of State for Justice, MP Michael Gove echoed what so many prison reform advocates have been saying for decades: education is key to reducing recidivism. In doing so, he appears to be demonstrating a commitment to making prison education a top priority in his portfolio. Gove has called

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Why the U.S. Prison System Hurts Young Workers

by Elizabeth English and Ryann Roberts  / @FortuneMagazine The mounds of taxpayer dollars spend putting people behind bars take away from America’s investment in education. It’s a fact that seems almost too mind-boggling to be true: The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prison population.  In 2011, 716 out

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California Is Facing More Woes in Prisons

Dianne Frazee-Walker

California’s prison system is one of the largest in the country. At the beginning of 2013 the state housed 199,000 inmates. The California prison population is facing a major crisis. The prison population is 50% over what the prison system is safely equipped to hold. Some California prisons are at 180% over capacity. A goal of reducing the overflow to137.5% was requested by federal courts in January with a 6-month deadline.

Presently, California prisons continue to be in a dismal predicament.  Image courtesy sfbayview.com

For the last two-years Governor Jerry Brown has been rejecting the United States Supreme Court’s orders to release low risk inmates to lower the prison population. His reasoning for not reaching federal regulations is his concern for public safety.

The consequences of Brown’s unwillingness to conform are compounding the prison overpopulation problem.

The California prison overcrowding dilemma is causing a multitude of other issues.

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