Federal prison population, per BOP report of "Total Federal Inmates," drops below 160,000

Two months ago, I noted in this post that federal Bureau of Prisons' official "Total Federal Inmates" count hit a notable milestone when the population dropped down below 170 thousand to an official total of 169,080 as of May 7, 2020.  Though I have been speculating that historic weekly declines would at some point stop or at least significantly slow, that has not happened yet.  In fact, the first part of July brings another modern low and another milestone passed: the new BOP numbers at this webpage now report "Total Federal Inmates" at 159,692.  (For recent context, the BOP reported population dropped from 163,441 (as of June 11) to 162,578 (as of June 18) to 161,640 (as of June 25) to 160,690 (as of July 2).)

Given that the COVID-19 crisis does not seem to be letting up, especially in large jurisdictions that historically generate lots of federal criminal cases like Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, I am lately starting to think these federal prison population declines might now be expected to continue for the foreseeable future.  Given that, as recent research notes, "COVID-19 case rates have been substantially higher and escalating much more rapidly in prisons than in the US population" and especially given that the death rate in the prison population is "3.0 times higher than would be expected" in the general population, responsible criminal justice and public health officials should still be seeking to drive down all prison populations as quickly and as robustly as possible.

A few of many prior related posts:

• Federal prison population, thanks in part to the FIRST STEP Act, hits lowest level in over 15 years (from July 2019)
• Federal prison population, due seemingly to COVID responses, hits another modern low (which is still very high) (from April 2020)
• According to BOP reporting, federal prison population now shrinking about 1,000 persons per week (from April 2020)
• Federal prison population drops below 170,000 for first time in nearly two decades (from May 2020)
• As federal prison population continues remarkable decline, can anyone predict what might be a new normal? (from May 2020)
• Is the number of federal prisoners about to spike up as BOP moves nearly 7000 new inmates into federal facilities? (from May 2020) 
• Federal inmate population, as reported by BOP, continues steady decline (which continues my wondering about data)(from May 2020)
• "Total Federal Inmates," as reported by BOP, drops below 165,000 (from June 2020)
• "Total Federal Inmates," as reported by BOP, drops another 1000 down to 163,441 (from four weeks ago)
• BOP accounting of "Total Federal Inmates" continues to drop, though pace may be slowing (from three weeks ago)
• Federal prison population, per BOP accounting of "Total Federal Inmates," drops down to 161,640 (from two weeks ago)
• As July starts, "Total Federal Inmates" as reported by BOP, down to 160,690 (from last week)