Oklahoma women in prison

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Members of a task force studying the state's female inmates were told that community sentencing programs aren't putting a dent in the number of Oklahoma women going to jail.

Thursday, August 21st 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Members of a task force studying the state's female inmates were told that community sentencing programs aren't putting a dent in the number of Oklahoma women going to jail.

Information from the Department of Corrections shows women are more likely to benefit from community-based sentencing, such as probation, drug treatment, counseling or work release programs, but these types of programs are not cutting down on the number of women going to jail.

Oklahoma puts more women in jail per capita than any other state. Oklahoma imprisons 130 women per 100,000 residents. The national average is about 58 women per 100,000 residents.

The task force is trying to figure out why.

But while the number of women going to prison hasn't changed much, community sentencing is diverting prison sentences for some women, especially first time offenders.