(State Prison Population and Violent Crime) "As state prison populations fell, so did the violent crime rate, which provides further evidence that increased incarceration does not mean more public safety. Concurrent with the 5.3 percent fall in violent crime in 2008-2009, state prison populations decreased 0.2 percent, the first population decrease since 2000.4 The number of people in prison is still growing, but at a slower rate than during the last few decades and primarily due to increases in federal prison system population.5 The 0.2 percent growth in the total U.S. prison population during 2009 was the third year of decline in the rate of growth and the slowest growth in eight years."
Justice Policy Institute, "Crime fell in 2009, demonstrating states are safely reducing prison populations," (Washington, DC: September 2010).
