RI prison population drops dramatically

CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) - Rhode Island's state prison population fell by 9.2% in 2009, the largest decrease of any state in the U.S.

That's according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Center on the States.

The survey found that 1.4 million people were being held in state prisons across the country as of January 1st.

It's the first time the national state prison population has fallen in 38 years.

Adam Gelb, the director of the Public Safety Performance Project of the Pew Center on the States,  says Rhode Island's dramatic drop is likely due to changes in the law regarding sentence lengths.

While the state prison population dropped, the number of people in federal prisons actually rose by 3.4% last year, reaching a new record high.

As a result, the nation's overall prison population climbed by 1,099 people.