§2P1.2 Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Federal courts sentenced 1,552 people under §2P1.2, Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. A prison term went to 1,437 (93%). The median prison term was 9 months after a guilty plea and 30 months after a trial.
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In brief: Federal courts sentenced 1,552 people under §2P1.2, Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. A prison term went to 1,437 (93%). The median prison term was 9 months after a guilty plea and 30 months after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,552 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Nearly All Received Prison Terms
Of the 1,552 people, 1,437 (93%) received a prison term. Only 87 (6%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 9 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 4 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served.
What Does §2P1.2 Cover?
The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles this guideline "Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison." The U.S. Sentencing Commission classifies the cases as Prison Offenses.
Each person counted had §2P1.2 as the primary guideline, meaning the guideline that set the offense level for the most serious count. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not in the data.
Guilty Pleas Compared With Trials
A total of 1,515 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 37 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 9 months after a guilty plea.
After a trial the median was 30 months, based on 34 people. The trial group is small, so the figure should be read with care.
Among guilty pleas, 60% had a written plea agreement and 39% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
The sentence position is known for 1,534 people. Within the range was 62% (949), below the range at the government's request was 21% (321), and below the range without a government request was 13% (206). Above the range was 4% (58).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 8 people, which is less than 1%.
Supervised Release, Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 606 people (39%), with a median term of 36 months.
A fine was ordered for 100 people (6%). Restitution was ordered for 8, which is less than 1%.
In criminal history, 10% were in category I, the lowest, and 24% were in category VI, the highest.
Changes Over the Years
The count was 708 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 844 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The median prison term was 8 months in the first period and 10 months in the second.
Yearly medians moved between 6 months in 2019, 2021, and 2022 and 12 months in 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024, and 2025. The number sentenced was highest in 2019 at 250 and lowest in 2023 at 97.
The records cannot show why the numbers moved. The table lists each year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 119 | 12 months | more than 99% |
| 2017 | 133 | 8 months | more than 99% |
| 2018 | 206 | 12 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 250 | 6 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 162 | 7.4 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 198 | 6 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 144 | 6 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 97 | 12 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 122 | 12 months | 95% |
| 2025 | 121 | 12 months | more than 99% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart, so the post reports federal numbers only. The data does not say what kind of contraband was involved, so it cannot show how the type of item related to the sentence.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2P1.2 (1,552), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2P1.1 Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2P1.3 Engaging In, Inciting or Attempting to Incite a Riot Involving Persons in a Facility for Official Detention: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.