Tulsa Mayor Receives Interim Report On Oklahoma's Female Incarceration Rate

<p>The Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women presented a report on female incarceration issues to the mayor Wednesday morning.</p>

Wednesday, October 22nd 2014, 7:40 am

By: News On 6

Tulsa Mayor Receives Interim Report On Oklahoma's Female Incarceration Rate

The Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women presented a report on female incarceration issues to the mayor Wednesday morning. The commission says this interim report is aimed at raising awareness of the issue and putting women back into the world with a chance at success.

In their interim report, the commission said their goal was three fold. Create awareness to the high female incarceration rate, reduce how many women return to prison and try to help women before, during and after they've been incarcerated.

Wednesday, the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women said they want to create something to give to these women that will show them which resources are available for them from the time they arrested to the time to the time they are released and re-entering into the community.

"We need to continue to shine light on the issues that impact women in Tulsa. There are several groups that are already working on female incarceration issues, to help women re-enter the mainstream. We would like to generate more awareness around the issue and around the organizations to encourage Tulsans to support these efforts," said Commission Chairwoman Carmen Pettie.

In the report, the commission stated that 67 percent of women in Oklahoma are incarcerated for non-violent offenses. Commission members said they plan to contact state lawmakers to explore how they can best address these sentencing issues.

The presentation took place at City Hall.