Fixing the First Step Act
The Bureau of Prisons has the power to improve the First Step Act but has not yet demonstrated the willingness to. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has been criticized for its slow and inconsistent implementation of the First Step Act (FSA), a landmark criminal justice reform law. This inaction has kept federal inmates in prison longer than intended, contradicting the law’s goals of reducing recidivism and enabling early release through earned time credits.
The First Step Act and Missed Opportunities
The First Step Act, passed in 2018, was designed to help inmates earn time credits for participating in rehabilitative programs. These credits would allow them to be transferred to pre-release custody, such as halfway houses or home confinement, sooner. While the law aimed to improve fairness and public safety, it also promised to reduce the financial costs of long-term incarceration. However, the BOP has failed to fully implement these changes. This has resulted in a backlog of inmates who have earned time credits but remain in prison, unable to transition to the community as the law intended.
The Second Chance Act: A Precedent for Success
This failure is notable because the BOP has a history of successfully implementing similar policies. For example, the Second Chance Act of 2008 encouraged the BOP to use halfway houses and home confinement to help inmates reintegrate into society. For years, the BOP embraced this policy, regularly placing inmates in residential reentry centers for up to a year to help them transition back to society.
Implementation Challenges and Inconsistent Policies
The main challenge for the BOP in implementing the First Step Act has been the increased demand on halfway houses. Unlike the Second Chance Act, which primarily benefited long-serving inmates, the First Step Act opened up eligibility to many more people, including those with shorter sentences. The BOP did not expand the capacity of halfway houses to meet this demand, leading to a bottleneck that has prevented the law from being used effectively.
Ultimately, this has left many inmates in a state of uncertainty, unsure if or when they will be able to utilize the early release opportunities they’ve earned. The BOP's inconsistent application of these reform laws highlights a key disconnect between the intent of Congress and the realities of institutional policy.
