According to the most recent report which includes data up to 2013, from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), of the 193,775 federal prisoners serving sentences of over one year, 98,200—or 50.7 percent—are serving sentences for drug crimes. Only 7 percent are incarcerated for violent crimes, with an additional 6 percent serving time for property crimes. Second only to drug crimes as a cause for federal incarceration are public order crimes which, at 35.7 percent, include immigration and weapons violations.
The picture is completely reversed within our state prison systems, where there were 1,314,900 people serving sentences that exceeded one year as of December 31, 2012. Of those, 707,500, or 53.8 percent, were incarcerated for violent crimes, and only 16 percent, or 210,200, were serving time for drug offenses, due perhaps to the fact that many states have already changed their drug laws and sentencing guidelines.
If further steps must be taken to reduce this population, the question is, which ones? Even if we released everyone convicted of a drug offense, we would still have the highest incarceration rate in the world, so clearly, we have to look elsewhere if we are ever to reverse the situation. Fortunately, the researchers at the Urban Institute have developed a tool that may help policymakers find possible solutions. Please follow below for a look at it.