State prison population appears to be slowing

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- State officials expect growth in Oklahoma's prison population to slow in the next few years.<br><br>The number of prison inmates is expected to climb but the rate of growth is

Monday, March 29th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- State officials expect growth in Oklahoma's prison population to slow in the next few years.

The number of prison inmates is expected to climb but the rate of growth is expected to slow to 0.5 percent annually, according to figures from the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center.

"Several changes have been made over the last four or five years that seem to be showing an effect on receptions to prison," said K.C. Moon, the executive director of the OCJRC.

In the last year, the number of prisoners decreased by 88 inmates. In 2002, there were 22,702 state prisoners. In 2003, there were 22,614.

One of the major changes that could help decrease the state's prison population is a change in the type of crimes that are punishable by jail time. For example, thieves must now steal $500 or more to be punished with jail time. Before the change, those who stole $50 could be jailed.

The Legislature also expanded the use of earned time credits for good behavior, allowing well-behaved inmates to serve less time.

More inmates are also becoming eligible for parole, according to the report.

The state's Pardon and Parole Board released almost 35 percent of eligible inmates in 2003, the highest level since 1993.

At nearly $400 million in fiscal year 2004, the Department of Corrections budget currently makes up 7.32 percent of the state-appropriated budget. From 1994 to 2004, the department's funding level has grown by 117 percent, according to the governor's annual budget report.

Lawmakers say whittling down the state's prison population would help other agencies.

State Rep. Lucky Lamons, a former Tulsa police officer and a member of the appropriations subcommittee that funds state judicial and public safety agencies, said seeing the corrections department get nearly 65 percent of the subcommittee's annual budget has given him a new perspective on incarceration.

"For 22 years, my objective was to protect society and incarcerate those that tried to violate the law," Lamons said. "It never occurred to me how we were going to pay for it."

While he supports alternatives to incarceration, such as drug courts and community sentencing, Lamons is hesitant to support easing penalties for nonviolent crimes.

"I think the movement is to try and reduce some of those individuals who go into the penitentiary, but they throw around what they call a nonviolent offender, and that bothers me," Lamons said.

"There might be some leeway on things where we arrest someone for simple possession (of drugs). But on the other hand, I still think there has to be in the back of an individual's mind that he could lose his freedom and go to the penitentiary."

Toby Taylor, a victim's representative on a state panel that makes sentencing recommendations to the Legislature, said he is pleased Oklahoma's prison population is leveling off.

Taylor, whose father Merle Taylor was murdered in Oklahoma City in 1999, said he would like to see low-level drug offenders and other nonviolent criminals be sentenced to treatment or other community sentencing rather than prison.

"There are certainly people for whom prison is an appropriate measure, but I think the Legislature is on the right track," Taylor said. "I think people for whom treatment is an option, that is an option that should be utilized. I would much rather do that rather than willy-nilly letting some people go."