Wonkbook: The incarceration rate is falling -- and Trump's law-and-order politics likely won't stop that

By Christopher Ingraham Later this month, Barack Obama will become the first president in at least 40 years to leave the office with a smaller federal prison system than he started with. In 2015, the total incarceration rate — including state prisons, federal prisons and local jails — fell to 670 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents. That is the …   The latest economic and domestic policy from Wonkblog   The number of Americans in prison is declining for the first time in decades. (Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post) By Christopher Ingraham Later this month, Barack Obama will become the first president in at least 40 years to leave the office with a smaller federal prison system than he started with. In 2015, the total incarceration rate — including state prisons, federal prisons and local jails — fell to 670 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents. That is the lowest it has been since around 1998, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The incarceration rate peaked in 2007 and 2008, at 760 inmates per 100,000. But since 2008 that rate has fallen every single year for seven years. The U.S. hasn't seen such a continued decline in incarceration since at least the 1960s. Read the rest on Wonkblog. Top policy tweets Republican Study Committee intro'd an ACA replacement yesterday with departures from Ryan's "better way." Consensus is not there. https://t.co/sx8hKzmG0a — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 5, 2017 Great piece @DrewAltman piece on what Trump voters really want on health care. Lines up with my KY reporting. https://t.co/VT28KBa1kK — Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) January 5, 2017 I own a home and think the mortgage interest deduction should be abolished as soon as humanly possible https://t.co/vO5hk6yJHR — Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt) January 5, 2017 ADVERTISEMENT   Most Recent Posts from Wonkblog This is the most beautiful data visualization of all time, according to Reddit The results are stunning. By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   Trump to tap Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton to head SEC Clayton has worked with some of the biggest names on Wall Street, including Goldman Sachs and Barclays. By Renae Merle  •  Read more »   The incarceration rate is falling — and Trump’s law-and-order politics likely won’t stop that The falling prison population of the Obama era is likely here to stay. By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   The U.S. might be better off without Congress — and a president How we would redesign the U.S. government if we could start from scratch By Ana Swanson  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   Federal Insider Federal news and policy update, in your inbox daily. Sign Up »         Share Wonkbook:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for a Wonkblog newsletter. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2017 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071