Sen. Tom Cotton said the US, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world, has an 'under incarceration problem'

Sen. Tom Cotton said Friday that the country that incarcerates more people per capita than any other has an "under incarceration problem."

Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, tweeted a clip of himself speaking on Fox News about the increase in crime currently happening in some US cities.

"This is all a result of naive and foolish policies that are letting prisoners out of jail early sometimes because of false claims that we have an over incarceration problem in this country or exaggerated fears about the coronavirus," Cotton said.

Read more: The 'crime surge' is both overhyped and underappreciated

He tweeted along with the video: "We're facing a historic crime wave and Democrats are advocating for violent, repeat felons to be let out of jail early."

"We have an under incarceration problem," he added.

The US has more prisoners per 100,000 residents than any country in the world, according to data compiled by the World Prison Brief.

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