Oklahoma houses over 25,000 inmates, and only Delaware, Louisiana, Alaska, and Texas have higher per-capita incarceration rates.[i] If Oklahoma could lower its incarceration rate to around the national average, it would have 6,100 fewer inmates, and its annual corrections budget would shrink by an estimated $100 million.[ii]

Additionally, Oklahoma has the highest female incarceration rate in the entire country. For most of the state’s history, women made up an average of 3.5 percent of the state’s prison population. However, by 2010, that percentage was nearly 11 percent, and the population had climbed to 2,760.[iii]

In light of the high cost of corrections and the state’s continually high incarceration rates, state lawmakers worked to change the criminal code in the 90s, and some changes included shorter sentences for non-violent offenders. Yet, Oklahoma, which spent 8% of state appropriations on corrections last year, still ranked in the top 10 states in terms of correctional spending.[iv]

Recently, House Speaker Kris Steele proposed House Bill 2131 which would shorten the time "low-risk, nonviolent" offenders spend behind bars in favor of expanded use of electronic monitoring, treatment programs and other forms of supervised release. According to Speaker Steele, “It costs approximately $40 to imprison a woman for one day or keep her on probation or parole for 13 days. If we refocus our efforts on reforms, like limiting the governor’s role in the parole process for nonviolent offenders and enhancing community sentencing programs, we will drastically cut costs, crime, and incarceration.”[v]

Together with the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Right On Crime launched its Oklahoma-focused initiative on March 15, 2011.

[i] Oklahoma getting right on crime, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, March 18, 2011: http://www.ocpathink.org/articles/978

[ii] Id.

[iii] Oklahoma laws foster incarceration rates, Oklahoma Watch, Barbara Palmer, January 30, 2011: http://www.oklahomawatch.org/story.php?sid=16

[iv] Oklahoma’s Incarceration Rates, Tulsa World, Julie Delcour, December 30, 2008: http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=214&articleid=20081230_214_0_Whatif773344&allcom=1http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=214&articleid=20081230_214_0_Whatif773344&allcom=1

[v] Id.

[vi] Oklahoma’s Incarceration Rates, Tulsa World, Julie Delcour, December 30, 2008: http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=214&articleid=20081230_214_0_Whatif773344&allcom=1http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=214&articleid=20081230_214_0_Whatif773344&allcom=1

[vii] Id.

• Oklahoma Designs Reentry for Mentally Ill Inmates

  Posted in Oklahoma, Parole and Re-Entry, Priority Issues, ROC Blog, State Initiatives: November 7, 2012 by Jeanette Moll

  Mentally ill offenders have a tendency to cycle in and out of the criminal justice system. Some members of law enforcement see the same offenders so often they’ve begun calling them “frequent flyers.”

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• Criminal Justice System Reforms Advance in MO, OK, and WV

  Posted in Missouri, Oklahoma, Priority Issues, Prisons, ROC Blog, State Initiatives: March 12, 2012 by Jeanette Moll

  Three states considering sentencing and system reform to save their states millions while creating more effective criminal justice policies have advanced legislation to that end, and one group—the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center—is common to each effort.

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• Oklahoma Tackles Criminal Justice Reform

  Posted in Oklahoma, Priority Issues, Prisons, ROC Blog, State Initiatives: January 25, 2012 by Timothy Cook

  For seven months, experts in Oklahoma have studied, evaluated, debated and reimagined criminal justice in that state. The result of their work is a report released this month that is aimed at reducing violent crime, providing better post-release supervision, and controlling expensive prison growth.

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• Oklahoma Legislature Tackling Prison Overcrowding

  Posted in Oklahoma, Priority Issues, Prisons, ROC Blog: June 7, 2011 by Henry Joel Simmons

  House Bill 2131 marks a significant step forward for the state of Oklahoma. State prisons currently operate at around 99% capacity, and 2131 proposes to reduce the rate of nonviolent incarceration. However, as a recent op-ed by House Speaker Kris Steele cautions…

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