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August 13, 2007
OK:Prisons Running Out of Options
Published on 8/11/2007
Prisons running out of options
By The Associated Press
Department of Corrections Director Justin Jones shuns giving his opinion on laws that have filled state prisons to overflowing, but he is not shy about saying the system is in crisis.
Jones said officials have fewer options than ever to deal with overcrowding and he continues to advocate new prison construction and renovation to address the issue, while urging caution about a large increase in the use of private prisons.
He also theorized that Oklahoma's high rate of incarceration ‹ No. 4 in the country ‹ is tied, in some measure, to the state having "a very weak" county government structure, where money is not available for diversion programs as is the case in some states that send fewer people to prisons.
Is low recidivism good?
He said Oklahoma has a relatively low recidivism rate compared to other states but finds it interesting that a researcher told him that was not necessarily a good thing, quoting the expert as saying "what that indicates to me is you are incarcerating a lot of low-risk people.² Critics of the state's criminal justice system long have cited statistics showing the vast majority of Oklahoma's inmates are in for nonviolent offenses and argued many of those offenders should be diverted to less costly forms of punishment.
Strong reservations
Jones wouldn't criticize laws that have contributed to overcrowding, such as repeal of early-release programs, requiring many convicts to serve 85 percent of terms and expanding the list of felony crimes.
But he expressed strong reservations about going too far in using private prison beds to solve the overcrowding dilemma, and he said drug courts should be used more for repeat offenders to divert them from prisons. Many first-time offenders now in drug courts would not be prison bound anyway, he said.
Jones said district attorneys and judges make good use of diversion programs.
Private prisons are part of the solution to managing the inmate population, he said, but "you have to be careful in that regard. You wouldn't want to run a business where you have only one supplier.²
His concern is that the state could become too dependent on private prisons and be in trouble if they pull out, for one reason or another, leaving perhaps 2,000 prisoners with no where to go.
Expanding system
He said private prisons generally do not want to deal with maximum security inmates. Besides building a new medium security prison, Jones wants to upgrade the Oklahoma State Penitentiary to handle growth in maximum security inmates.
The Legislature rejected his request for expanding the prison system. Henry presented the Legislature with a list of bond proposals in his executive budget that included an item for prison expansion. But he did not actively push the plan.
"Their job is to make policy decisions based upon that data and research," he said. "I don't take it personally if they decline. They treat me very well, even if they don't respond or create legislation to allow me to build."
http://newsok.com/article/3104181
Posted by lois at August 13, 2007 09:45 PM