First Step Act Linked to Modest Reductions in Time Served by Federal Prisoners
by Jo Ellen Nott
The First Step Act (“FSA”), enacted in 2018, aimed to reduce recidivism and reform federal sentencing practices.
A recent report by the Council on Criminal Justice (“CCJ”) showed modest reductions in time served by individuals released under the FSA compared to those released before its implementation. The report is titled “Time Sentenced and Time Served, Exploring the Impact of the First Step Act.”
The report, conducted for the CCJ by Avinash Bhati, of Maxarth LLC, found that individuals released under the FSA in 2023 served an average of 82.1 percent of their imposed prison terms, compared to 89.7 percent for similar individuals released before the FSA. This 7.6 percent decrease translates to only a small reduction in incarceration times. For example, a 60-month sentence pre-FSA would average 54 months served, while under the FSA, the same sentence averages 49 months—a five-month reduction.
Key FSA provisions, such as expanded sentence credits and compassionate release, contributed to these outcomes. Provisions allow prisoners to earn time credits for participating in recidivism reduction programs. Successful completion of these programs can reduce their sentence by up to 10 days per 30 days of participation. Low-risk prisoners can earn an additional 5 days per 30 days. The FSA outlines a system for reducing earned time credits for misconduct and allows prisoners to earn them back.
The FSA amended federal law to expand access to compassionate release. Compassionate release is allowed if the court finds “extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction,” or the prisoner is at least 70 years of age; the prisoner has served at least 30 years of his sentence; and a determination has been made by Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) that the prisoner is not a danger to the safety of any other person or the community.
Previously, only the BOP could initiate compassionate release. The FSA allows prisoners to petition the court directly if BOP denies their request or fails to act within 30 days. It also requires BOP to assist prisoners with their petitions and expedites the review process. The FSA emphasizes the importance of compassionate release for terminally ill prisoners by requiring BOP to notify the prisoner’s family and provide them with support.
The report, which was published in December 2024, revealed that most release date advancements were modest. In 2023, 92 percent of individuals released under the FSA had their release dates moved up by less than a year, with 41 percent seeing advancements of under three months. Only 5 percent experienced release date reductions exceeding 15 months.
Despite the expanded sentence credits and wider compassionate release rules, the report noted that the reductions have not yet had a substantial impact on the overall federal prison population. This could change as evidence-based recidivism reduction programs that the FSA mandates become more available in federal prisons. These programs offer sentence reductions upon completion, suggesting more significant time-served reductions may occur in the future.
The report also addressed issues with data limitations, including the need for individual-level information to assess the specific contributions of different FSA provisions and their broader ramifications on prison populations. Also, findings are based on the 2023 group of prisoners, which may not represent future FSA releases due to the changing implementation of recidivism reduction programs.
Sources: Time Sentenced and Time ServedExploring the Impact of the First Step Act, The First Step Act of 2018: An Overview
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