This Commission report presents data on sentencing trends; prison and jail populations; the views of criminal justice professionals about sentencing reform; the approaches taken in Minnesota, Oregon, and Delaware; and recent research on drug treatment. The most marked trend over the past 5 years has been the 64 percent increase in total felony sentences between 1986 and 1991. A 235 percent increase in drug-related sentences accounts for much of this growth. Few intermediate punishment options are available for nonviolent offenders, and non- confinement sentences essentially are nonexistent. Overall, crime rates have changed little since passage of the Sentencing Reform Act, but sentences to jail and prison have increased markedly. The Commission concludes that the original purposes of the Sentencing Reform Act remain appropriate and that most have been fulfilled but specifies several exceptions: opportunities for offenders to improve themselves are limited and used less and less by the courts; frugal use of State resources has not been accomplished; and alternatives to total confinement for nonviolent offenders have received inadequate attention. 1 appendix