News Story on Oklahoma Prison Population Problems

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OK-Forecast for prisons: severe increase in population for 2007
04/27/2006 by Summer L. Holleyman
(LIN) Oklahoma's prison population could grow by as much as 1,200 inmates at the end of fiscal year 2007, quadrupling last year's increase of 300 inmates, according to a report presented Thursday to the Oklahoma Board of Corrections.
K.C. Moon, director of the Criminal Justice Resource Center, informed the board that the Department of Corrections could see an annual growth rate for incarcerated individuals of 2.1 percent every year for the next 10 years if current trends remain the same.
When questioned by DOC Director Justin Jones about the accuracy of his projections, Moon said that, when determining increases in the prison population, his data has a margin of error of plus or minus 20 percent.
Moon said several factors could contribute to the increase, including the number of individuals sentenced to prison for drug violations and the number of new bills that would toughen penalties for certain crimes, but one factor stands out as having the biggest impact, according to the data collected by the Center. "I would say the single greatest cause of the increase is the release rate by the pardon and parole board and the governor," said Moon, referring to the abolishment of commutations and the decline of prisoners released on parole over the last 14 years.
In 1991, 40.8 percent of the prisoner population was released either on parole or by commutation of their sentence. That number has steadily declined over the last decade, with only 18.2 percent of the population being released on parole in 2005.
"The problem isn't more people getting in, it's less people getting out. In August of 2005, the commutation program was abolished. We used to see 500 prisoners getting out on commutation - now its zero. You're also seeing the parole docket going down," explained Moon, pointing to data that shows a decrease in the number of prisoners being granted parole.
In 2001, 2,301 prisoners were released on parole, while only 1,500 were released in 2005. Moon said he expects the 2006 parole numbers to be even less due to political factors, such as 2006 being an election year.
Sen. Cal Hobson, D-Lexington, who was present at the meeting, echoed Moon's supposition, stating that parole numbers have historically gone down during election years. "I've tried three times and failed to remove the governor out of the parole process. I even tried to pass a bill that would have let the people decide whether or not the governor should be involved. I have no hope that the people of Oklahoma will ever take the governor out of the process," said Hobson, referring to the potential effects politics can have on the parole system.
Several members of the board questioned the wisdom of cutting taxes at a time when the Department of Corrections was looking at trying to fund an increase in the prison population with limited resources and limited bed space.
"I would rather have my public safety needs met than get a tax cut. What's $1,500 back in my pocket if I don't have an adequate police force to protect me?" asked board member Beverly Young.
Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, also present at the meeting, spoke to the Board on the recent general appropriations budget negotiations that have spurred conflict between Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature.
"I support expanding and updating our facilities. Right now, we've got a lot of one-time money that should be spent on one-time things, not recurring things that we may not be able to fund in the future. The House says we should look at tax cuts, and then, after we've cut taxes, we can use what's left over to meet the needs of Oklahoma. The Senate looks at things differently. We believe we should fund the needs of Oklahoma first and then look at cutting taxes but it's an election year and a lot of games are being played," said Corn.
Hobson also remarked on the current battle over general appropriations spending, calling it a "Kabookie" dance between the two chambers. "It's the classic argument between huge tax cuts or investing in programs. The House worships at the alter of smaller government and fewer taxes. And there's the insatiable desire to pass more and more bills to incarcerate more and more people. There are still 70 bills out there dealing with getting tough on crime and not a single bill on the flip side to deal with some of your problems," said Hobson.
One of the biggest problems currently facing the DOC is the lack of space for the current inmate population. "Currently we have 1,359 inmates backed up in the county jails because we don't have the space for them in the prison system. The average wait for an offender in the county jail is 51 days," said Moon.
With no funding set aside to build new facilities, the DOC has to rely on private prisons, which have also reached their maximum capacities. "There's no political sizzle at a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new prison," remarked Hobson.
Corn and Hobson both said they will continue negotiations with the House to draft a budget that serves the needs of Oklahoma's various agencies, including the DOC, though Corn was not optimistic this could be done without going into a special session in June.
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